


Never Love a Wild Thing

by lovewillremember



Category: Harlena, One Direction (Band), Sarry, Selena Gomez - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-08
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2017-12-26 00:41:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/959518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovewillremember/pseuds/lovewillremember
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"But you can’t give your heart to a wild thing: the more you do, the stronger they get."</p><p>It can be hard for a new werewolf to control their urges. When Harry’s sense go haywire the night of the full moon, he has an unfortunate run-in with his ex’s best friend and has to face the consequences of his actions. What happens then she becomes a part of the pack?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 001

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't want to include this in the Teen Wolf fandom section as it'd be a bit misleading considering none of the characters in this story are from the show. However, if you have ever watched Teen Wolf before, then you will more than likely recognize most of the lore that I'll be using throughout the story. There are a few minor changes that will be explained as the story progresses. I hope you enjoy. We've got a long road ahead of us.

The streets of London were particularly foggy that autumn night. Light from the street lamps reflected off the murky puddles that hadn't run down into the sewers, the only sound the occasional pairs of footsteps echoing from drunken co-eds stumbling their way back to their flats from the local bars.

It was nights like these that made Selena love being in London. No obligations, no worries, nothing but the emptying streets, the hum of chatter from inside the pub she stood a few yards in front of, and the full moon hanging in the sky overhead. Oh and of course the voice of her best friend from back home on the phone, blathering away in her ear. This was her second semester abroad in London and while it was her first without Taylor right there by her side, the constant check-ins were a bit much even for her.

“Don’t you have class tomorrow? Why are you out at a bar when you should be studying? Nick knows where you are, right?” Taylor’s voice showed obvious concern, her questions coming out faster than Selena was able to answer them.

“My Fridays don’t start until 11, so I’ll be fine,” the brunette said, her slender fingers brushing a few free flying strands of hair out of her face while she spoke, raising her voice so it could carry above the noise filtering through the door as another bunch of students came trickling out. “And I was going to call him when I was headed back.”

There came a small sigh from the other end—one that almost went unheard—before Taylor spoke up again. “I can’t really hear you, Sel.”

“That’s probably because I’m standing right in front of the bar. Hold on, let me find somewhere else that’s a little quieter.”

Glancing around, chocolate brown eyes noticed that further down the road seemed to be less populated and she took light steps in that direction, holding her phone close to her ear as she walked. It wasn't until she was near the end of the block that she noticed a familiar figure looming in the mist and she slowed to a stop.

“Taylor? I’m going to have to call you back…”

Selena didn't wait for a response before she ended the call, lowering her phone and slipping it back into her pocket. She took a few cautious steps forward, eyes squinting to try and better make out the details of the male stood at the end of the walkway. She began to make out the wisps of curly brown hair, pushed back from his forehead and stood up in a quiff, the gleam of the light filtering through the fog highlighting the contours of the black t-shirt that hugged around toned biceps peppered in tattoos, and the fair tone of the skin they sat upon.

“Harry? Is that you?” Her words echoed off the outer walls of the buildings that lined the Soho street, but the figure made no movements other than shoulders heaving with the heavy breaths slipping through his lips.

Selena’s brows furrowed together in confusion as she gave the male in front of her another once over. There were so many things that were familiar about the boy she’d met nearly a year ago, yet there was also something inherently different about him as well. He was taller and the muscles beneath his shirt were threatening to burst through the fabric as if he hadn't bought a new one since his years in secondary school.

There was a sudden movement as he stepped forward and the light from the streetlamp glinted off his irises, only they weren't their usual hue of jade. Instead, a brilliant shade of gold stood out from the surrounding darkness. A low growl penetrated the silence and it was enough to make her shoulders tense and fall back a few steps.

“H-Harry? Are you alright?” Selena’s voice was shaky now as she continued to move away from him, feeling less and less at ease with every passing second.

Without a word, he crouched down to the ground and bolted towards her on all fours. There wasn't a second of hesitation on Selena’s part as she turned and dashed back down the street, the sound of her shoes slapping against the damp concrete bricks and her rapidly increasing heartbeat pounding against her eardrums. Though the rational thoughts that crossed through her mind at that moment shouted at her and told her to head back towards the bar, to get back to any sign of life, the adrenaline rushing through her veins pushing her to run faster and down another empty street in an attempt to get him off of her trail.

Against her better judgment, Selena took a quick glance over her shoulder. The distance between her and the animalistic thing that followed behind her was closing quickly which only forced her into running as fast as her legs could possibly carry her. Rounding another corner into a closed off alleyway, she lost her footing and no matter how hard she tried to regain it, gravity was against her as it pulled her down to collide with the ground, the stones tearing at her exposed flesh as she skidded to a halt.

Her body fumbled as she tried picking herself back up, her frightened eyes turning to look over her shoulder just in time for a set of powerful arms to pin her to the ground and razor sharp fangs sank into her neck, a scream piercing the air as her vision went white before darkness surrounded her.


	2. 002

Heavy eyelids parted from one another slowly at the sounds of cars driving past, allowing green eyes to search the room before coming together again quickly. A wince slipped through gritted teeth and a hand came up to shield from the harsh rays filtering in through the drawn curtains as the young boy came to. By the time Harry had come back to consciousness, the sun was already at its highest position in the sky and beating down against the London streets outside.

A few moments passed before he attempted opening his eyes again, taking in the details of his surroundings. He recognized them almost immediately—after spending the past three or so years coming in and out of the flat and having lived in it at one point, at least he hoped he would remember the place—but he knew that he wasn’t back at his own flat in Primrose Hill. His head was throbbing and the pain only intensified as he sat up in the bed with a groan, biting down onto his thin bottom lip and threading his fingers through his thick locks just as the sound of footsteps against hardwood flooring came from the hall, volume gradually increasing with each step closer. A moment later, the handle of the door jiggled before the door creaked open and in stepped Harry’s best and closest friend of three years, Louis.

Bare feet padded across the room and the short brunette walked over towards the bed with a tray covered in various breakfast foods clasped between his fingers, setting it down onto the bedside table without acknowledging Harry. The younger of the two swallowed hard, the silence nearly deafening as it beat against his eardrums. Harry couldn’t tell if Louis was mad at him or not, but the lack of greeting and the crease in his furrowed brow was enough of an indication that something was wrong other than the fact that Harry was sleeping in the wrong flat.

“Was wonderin’ when you’d be waking up. Your food’s gone cold, but I tried heating it up a bit for you,” Louis said, finally turning his blue eyes to look over Harry’s face. Harry let out a sigh before noticing that Louis was holding up his hand as if offering him something. Once Harry lifted his hand, Louis dropped a painkiller into his palm. “You look awful.”

“Thanks, Lou…” Harry replied, a hint of sarcasm dangling from his words at his last statement though the gratification was still there as he leaned over and picked up the glass of juice sat on the tray, letting the tablet and liquid flow down his parched throat and quench his need for something to drink. The glass emptied far too quickly for his liking and he let out a light sigh, placing it back into its original spot then turning his attention back to his friend. “How long’ve I been out for?”

“Day and a half, just about,” Louis spoke as he walked, moving across the room to pull open the curtains and let the sunlight in completely. Harry noticed a folded newspaper hanging out from the side pocket of the other male’s pants, though he didn’t make mention of it as Louis spoke again. “It’s half one now.”

Harry let out an agonized groan, bringing his head back to rest against the headboard with a soft thud. “I’ve missed the entire weekend?”

“I think you should be less concerned about the fact that you’ve missed the weekend and more concerned about this.” Louis pulled the newspaper from his pocket and tossed it onto the bed, crossing his arms over his chest. Harry could feel Louis’ eyes boring into him and if looks could kill, he was sure he would be severely wounded if nothing else. He reached forward to grab the paper off the bedspread, opening it up and reading the bolded headline printed on the page before him.

# University Transfer Student Attacked in Soho

‘Attacked’ stuck out to him the most. Harry swallowed hard, attempting to gulp down the miniscule lump that had begun to accumulate in his throat before he continued to read over the Saturday paper. 

Flashes of his last moments of consciousness from earlier this weekend started coming back to him; the smell of the alcohol filtering through cracked pub doors and off passers-by as he meandered through the cool and damp darkness, the scent of vanilla perfume— _her_ perfume—breaking through his senses as if someone had spritz it just beneath his nose, and a piercing scream shattering the daydream and bringing him back to reality. He shook his head quickly to clear his mind and continued reading. 

> An American student studying abroad at the University of London was attacked late Friday night on Duck Lane, four blocks away from Bar Soho on Old Compton Street in City of Westminster. Selena Gomez, 21, was outside the bar when she reportedly ran into her attacker.  
>  “I don’t remember much,” Selena told us. “I thought it was an old friend of mine, but as I got closer I realized my mistake and tried to run, but I tripped. That’s when he got me.”  
>  There are no details on the man’s appearance other than being of tall stature. He has not been found and is still at large. If you have any further details, please contact Scotland Yard.

“Selena…” he muttered. The effort it took to breathe through the heaviness that sat on his chest was immense and his knuckles were white with how tightly he balled his fists at the edges of the newspaper, fingers digging through and ripping at the pages. “Did… d-did I do that to her?”

“Yeah,” Louis replied curtly, keeping his gaze locked onto Harry—specifically his hands—to monitor his behavior and make sure his heart rate didn’t go up too much. “Liam’s not going to be very pleased with you when he hears about this, if he already hasn’t.” 

The dull pain in Harry’s jaw from his teeth gritting together served as a reminder to not allow himself to get worked up for fear of turning right then and there. Everything that Harry did, he had to run it by Liam. If he wanted to go anywhere, if he wanted to spend time with anybody—Liam had to know or else Harry would get into some serious trouble. Harry had snuck out on his own Friday night and it had all ended up like this, so he knew the moment he got back to the Hangar that he’d get an earful and some form of punishment for his disobedience. 

Releasing the paper, it fell to his lap and he looked down at his now free hands. They were stained with a hint of red as if someone had been scrubbing away at them to get rid of dried blood that he could still feel caked against his skin. 

Louis softened his stance as he watched the younger boy, unfolding his arms and allowing them to hang by his side. “She’s alright, Harry…” he spoke low, sitting down on the edge of the bed and reaching over to rub his hand gently across his shoulders. He could feel the tension in Harry’s muscles beneath his touch and he hesitated before giving it a squeeze. “Y’know it heals after a few hours. Could hardly see it in the picture.” 

“It doesn’t matter, Lou,” Harry scoffed, pulling away from his touch. “I still hurt her. I hurt my friend, I-I…” His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes, the darkness only bringing back the image of her smile—the one that had been there since the day she’d left. “It wasn’t just anyone. I hurt _Selena_ …” 

Louis stayed quiet for many moments, unsure of what to say. He knew how close the two had been when she had first come to London; he saw it in the way that Harry smiled at her or the way that she always laughed at his awful jokes, if only to make him feel better when no one else would. There’d been something much more between them and Louis believed it was ultimately what led to his break-up with Taylor. Harry would never admit to it, but his face lighting up at the mention of her name was enough of an answer. 

“… You know what you have to do, don’t you?” 

Harry’s green eyes turned towards Louis and he nodded slowly, letting out a sigh. “Yeah… Yeah I do.” 

“She’s staying with Grimmy, isn’t she?” 

“That’s what he said, yeah.” 

“Then go get her,” Louis said as he stood from the bed, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder. “But eat your breakfast first.” 

Harry couldn’t help but let out a light laugh at his friend, nodding and muttering a “yeah yeah” as he pulled the tray to his lap and wolfed down whatever was on it.


	3. 003

It was rare when the streets of Primrose Hill were hard to maneuver through, but that was the struggle that Nick Grimshaw encountered as he tried to make his way back home from work. While it was home to many affluent stars, the area was usually quite tame and the stars’ privacy was well respected, which made it a complete shift from what he saw as he rounded the block. The road just outside of his home was littered with photographers attempting to snap a picture through closed curtains and journalists jotting down questions and various other scribbles into their notepads.

Heaving a sigh, Nick shrugged his brown messenger back further onto his shoulder and tugged his coat so it fit more snugly around his torso before making his way into the fray. All eyes turned on him as he stepped towards them and shutters went crazy as everyone shouted out question after question in his direction.

“Mr. Grimshaw, do you have any comment on the events that took place Friday night?”

“Miss Gomez is a friend of yours, right?”

“Is she staying with you?”

“Were you with her the night of the attack?”

Question after question came flying in his direction and it took everything in him to not start screaming right then and there; at least if they thought he was mental, maybe they’d leave. He shook the thought from his head as he continued to push through them, making his way up the steps towards the front door and turning the key in the lock. He could hear the scramble of footsteps following him, some even being so bold as to step up behind him, and he took in one last deep breath before turning around to face the lenses, microphones, and tape recorders in his face.

“I’ll say this once and then I want all of ya get off my doorstep,” he began, his face serious and eyes darting back and forth to make eye contact with each person for a split second. “She’s already told ya everything she remembers. Now buzz off!”

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Nick pushed open the door and stepped inside the foyer, slamming it shut behind him. He grumbled under his breath as he locked the door, catching a faint yet familiar smell of oil coming from the room to his right.

“I thought werewolves had to be invited into a home before they could enter,” he sighed, looking over towards the entrance of the dining room to see Liam standing there, clad in a pair of dark jeans and a black tank top.

“You’ve got us confused with vampires, I’m afraid,” Liam responded, light smirk playing at the corner of his lips. “Werewolves can enter wherever they please.”

“Yeah, well it’d still be polite to knock or at least wait until I’m home before breaking and entering,” the taller man critiqued with a scoff of a laugh, shaking his head.

Nick shrugged his bag down from his shoulder and let it fall down beside the door, sending one last glance in Liam’s direction. Setting his keys down onto the small table beside the front door, he made his way towards the kitchen and could hear the sound of Liam’s heavy boots gliding across the floorboards behind him as he went about filling the kettle with water.

There was a shared silence between the two as Nick tried his best to ignore the other’s presence until the tension was nearly palpable. The kettle clinked against the stove as he set it down, turning the dial to the highest setting before leaning against his hands pressed into the edge of the counter.

“Is it safe to assume you’re here because of her?” Nick spoke, voice low as he turned his head to catch Liam’s frame in the corner of his vision.

“Why else would I be anywhere near your flat if it wasn’t because of what happened?” Liam asked, his gaze never wavering from Nick’s back that still faced him.

“I dunno, I thought maybe you’d be here to admire my new curtains or something.” Nick pulled open the cabinet and tugged out two separate mugs, setting them onto the counter. “You want a cuppa or will ya be leaving us shortly?”

“I just need to talk to her, that’s all.”

“Yeah, and I’m Harry’s father,” Nick replied sarcastically, closing the cabinet door with a loud thwack as he finally turned to face Liam, arms crossed over his chest. His weight was leaned up against the counter behind him, one foot crossed in front of the other. “You’re not takin’ her, Liam.”

“She’s not safe her—”

“She’s got me. It’s not like I haven’t handled this sorta thing before.”

“But you haven’t, Grimmy!” Liam bellowed, his voice filling the room for a brief moment before it fell to silence again. “You didn’t have Harry living under your roof when he was going through his transformations. As much as you may think you know, you don’t know. You don’t know what it’s like to live like this and you never will.”

Nick’s arms slowly unfolded and fell back down to his sides, lifting himself up to his full height.

“Don’t be yelling at me in my own house,” he spoke, his voice low and stern as he stared across the room at the younger male. Nick’s chest instinctively puffed up to appear broader and more intimidating than it really was, but Liam could hear the rapid heartbeat against the lanky man’s rib cage and the shallow breaths he took in in a failed attempt at steadying himself.

A playful smirk took over his features “I’ve had enough of this. Where is she?”

“I’m right here.”

Both men looked to the hallway to follow the meek, feminine voice that had spoken up. Selena stood there with her arms folded over one another as if hugging her thin frame beneath the oversized sweater she wore that looked like it’d come straight from Nick’s closet. She swallowed hard as she stared up at Liam, taking in his features.

He looked so different from the medium-built, swoopy haired boy she’d met her first semester in London. Now he was all muscle and tattoos, hair cut close to the scalp and what little of it he had sticking up, once warm brown eyes simply staring at her with an almost cold edge to them and the line of his jaw more defined as he gritted his teeth ever so slightly. He took a step towards her, prompting her to take a step backward out of an unconscious cry for distance from him.

“Leave her alone,” Nick warned, taking a few steps forward to rid himself of the counter being the barrier between him and Liam so he could spring into action if needed. Liam held a hand up as if to silence Nick, which only infuriated him more.

The whistle of the kettle on the stove began to pick up and as the pitch grew higher, the strain on Selena’s ears grew more intense. She brought her hands up to cover her ears, brows furrowing as a wince slipped past her lips. “Grimmy…”

Nick watched for a moment, confused as to why the noise was bothering her so much until he recalled the time that he was out with Harry at Regent Park shortly after he’d been turned and how much more sensitive his hearing had become because of the bite. Darting over to the stove, he pulled the kettle off the hot stove plate quickly and set it off to the side, the whistle fizzling out to a stop.

“Just proves my point,” Liam muttered, shaking his head as he watched Selena stand upright again, hands moving away from her ears. “We need to talk.”

“Why?” Selena asked, eyes flickering over to watch Nick’s face.

“Because I know you know more than you’re letting on,” the young boy started, taking a step closer, “and I need to know everything about what happened Friday night.”

Her brown eyes settled back onto the face of the brunette in front of her, searching for any sign of… something—in his eyes, in his face, anywhere—that would give away his intentions, but Liam was stoic and as steady as a rock, his gaze never wavering.

“I told the press everything I know,” she said slowly, trying everything in her power to keep her heart rate steady. “I never saw my attacker.”

There was a knock on the door and it seemed as though everyone was going to ignore it until Liam cleared his throat. “You gonna get that, Grimmy?”

Sending a quick glare towards Liam’s back, Nick stepped past the two into the hall to walk to the door, all the while muttering underneath of his breath.

“‘You gonna get that, Grimmy?’ Bite me, Liam…” he grumbled, barely tugging the door open. “For the last time, I told you lot to buz—”

What Nick had been expecting to be another gaggle of reporters standing on his doorstep turned out to be Harry standing awkwardly with a hand rubbing against the back of his neck, confusion written across his features as he stared up at the man in front of him.

“Were you just about to tell me to buzz off, Grimmy? I’m hurt.”

“Now’s not really the time for jokes, Harry,” Nick sighed, pushing the door open to its full extent to reveal the remainder of the hallway to the 19 year old.

“You’re right. I need to…” Harry’s voice trailed off as he looked over Nick’s shoulder and his eyes found those of his friend at the end of the hall piercing back into his. No words needed to be spoken for Harry to know that he was in trouble. “… Talk to… Selena…”

The petite female turned to look towards Harry and the control she’d had over her pulse was suddenly gone. She stumbled backwards a bit until she bumped into Liam’s chest, his hands moving up to grab firmly onto her shoulders as he leaned down to her ear. The strong boy’s warm breath ghosted over the shell of her ear and she could almost hear the smirk in his tone as he spoke, voice low.

“I think we need to have that talk now.”


	4. 004

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it took me this long to get the chapter out to you guys (if anyone is actually reading). School has been picking up now that we're a few weeks into the semester, so balancing homework and writing has become a challenge. Hopefully the next update won't be as long of a wait!

Selena knew that it would only be a matter of time before she would have to see Harry again after that night. After all, she was staying with one of their best friends. They were bound to encounter one another at some point. She was just hoping it wouldn’t have to be this soon and under such strange circumstances. Nick had refused yet again to let Liam leave with Selena and that only spurned more fighting between the two as Harry led her off to an empty room as the two duked it out.

Raise voices carried from the kitchen throughout the flat, though it seemed like the door drawn to close out the rest of the world from the room they were in was doing the trick and the silence between Harry and the girl seated opposite each other in the living room was all that the petite brunette could focus on. Neither one dared to speak first for there was an almost fear of what could possibly come out of the conversation that was looming inevitably on the horizon. Selena’s coffee-colored eyes darted across the room and she was sure she’d seen just about every square inch that was available to her aside from the overstuffed arm chair across the room that Harry had settled himself into uncomfortably.

His gaze lingered on her body as she seemed to curl in on herself in an awful attempt at making herself smaller to shy away from the shouts in the other room. It was like watching a child trying to hide as their parents argued and a heavy weight sat on Harry’s chest as the realization set in that she wouldn’t be in this position if it weren’t for him.

The 19 year old didn’t want to push her to speak. After all, he was surprised that she had even agreed to come to this room with her instead of sticking to Nick’s side. She didn’t even know all of the details yet about what was happening to her body and what was to come with the change—he could only imagine the arguing was hell on her sensitive hearing—but he knew that there was no easy way to explain what had happened to him that night or why he attacked her let alone tell her that her life was never going to go back to the way it was before. When boiled down to the bare essentials, Harry had ruined her life. In all honesty, he would be shocked if Selena spoke more than two words to him after all of this.

It seemed like an eternity before her gaze turned to meet his and her fingers tugged lightly at the end of the sleeves of the sweater that nearly swallowed her whole. A soft smile played across Harry’s lips as he noticed the apparel, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth to hide a slight chuckle from passing through them which only brought a confused look to the young girl’s face.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, finally breaking the silence. She cleared her throat quietly to rid herself of the lump that was growing progressively larger the longer they waited.

“That’s my jumper,” he commented quietly, his hand lowering to rest on the arm rest of the chair.

“No it’s not,” she started, shaking her head and motioning towards the closed door that blocked the kitchen from view. “I got it from Grimmy’s closet.”

“I can’t even begin to tell you how many clothes of mine he’s yet to return,” he responded, the amusement evident in his features as he shifted in the seat to lean forward. “It suits you better than me though… Even if you look like you could get lost in it.”

No matter how hard she tried to resist it, the edges of her lips turned upwards slightly and she looked away in the hopes that he hadn’t seen. “T-thanks… I guess.”

The smile faded from Harry’s face as he watched her body language and he knew that getting her to feel comfortable around him again was going to be a long and quite possibly tedious process. He threaded his fingers through his hair as he pushed it further out of his face, heaving a sigh while he thought up his next move. Should he just come right out and start with it or try another ice breaker?

It was strange to think that over a year ago, the two were nearly inseparable and you’d rarely see them without a smile on their faces when together. Now it seemed like the two could hardly stand to be in the same room as each other and the tension was palpable.

“Selena…” Harry spoke, though his words trailed off along with his train of thought. She perked up slightly, turning to face him expectantly. Ideas of what to say in this situation ran through his head a mile a minute and he couldn’t settle on which path to go down until he saw her brows furrow in what was unmistakable frustration.

“Are we going to keep sitting here avoiding the subject or are you going to own up and tell me what the hell you did to me?”

“It’s… Co—”

“No!” Her voice was firm and her gaze on him was steady as her pupils dilated and fixed on him. “Don’t give me that bullshit ‘it’s complicated’ excuse. I’ve heard that way too many times and I’m sick of people treating me like I’m an idiot. Tell me right now, Harry.”

Though she was trying to stand her ground, the light shining in through the windows gave away the glassiness that covered her eyes at that moment and Harry frowned. Standing from his seat, he moved around the short coffee table that acted as their only barrier, being careful not to trip over the edge, before lowering himself down onto the couch cushion beside hers.

Instinctively, Selena inched closer to the edge of the couch, but wasn’t able to go far as she was already pressed up against the arm. Her eyes continued to glaze over and she kept them turned away from him in the hopes of keeping her composure, but it was no use.

She wasn’t scared. No, Selena was terrified. She was like a newborn being thrust into a brand new world and she felt more vulnerable than she had in months. There was no feeling she hated more than feeling like she couldn’t help herself. Selena never wanted to be a damsel in distress or to rely on those around her to get by, but she couldn’t deny that Harry had always been one of her vices, no matter how much she tried.

She didn’t want to need him. She had been trying to convince herself of that ever since she’d gone home after her first year studying in London. She had been trying to convince herself of that ever since he had stopped sending her letters. She had tried to tell herself that she wasn’t coming back on the off chance that she would be able to run into him and they’d be able to pick things up like old times. But as much as she wanted to deny it—as much as she wanted to deny _him_ —she couldn’t. He was one of those people that came into your life and left a permanent mark, only this time she couldn’t tell herself she didn’t need him. He had taken up residence in her heart and her mind and this virus that ran through her veins and infected every fiber of her being was him. There was no escaping him now.

She flinched beneath his touch as the tips of his fingers brushed across her cheeks, wiping away the tears she hadn’t realized were slipping out of the corner of her eyes. Another moment of silence passed before Harry’s large hand cupped her cheek, gently turning her head to face him without restraint on her part.

The sound of her heart pounded against his eardrums and it only prompted him to make slow and calculated movements so as not to frighten her. His thumb wiped along her bottom row of eyelashes, catching whatever water droplets that had gotten caught. It almost hurt for him to breathe with the intense pressure on his chest, but he got enough air into his lungs in order to speak so that only she could hear, in case anyone—namely Liam—were to be eavesdropping through the walls.

“I’m so sorry…” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I never meant to hurt you. That’s the last thing I would ever want to do to you, Selena. I know what it feels like to… to feel betrayed by someone you once trusted, to feel like they were intentionally trying to sabotage your life. But I’m not going to let you go through this alone like I had to. I’m not much further along than you, but we can work through this together, okay?”

Selena sucked in her bottom lip, catching it between her teeth in a failed attempt to keep it from quivering, before she gave him a faint nod.

“What’s happening to me?” she questioned, her voice cracking and cutting through her words.

“You’re turning,” Liam’s voice came from the now open doorway and the volume was enough to make the two jump and force their eyes to look to him.

“Like she’d know what that means, Liam,” Harry started, though the daggers that shot back at him from Liam’s glare was enough to get him to quiet down.

“I’ll have a word with you later,” the older male snapped before turning his attention back to Selena. “Go and pack your things. You’re coming with us.”

“W-What?” Selena stammered and her eyes darted towards Nick, his face showing anything but joy. “Grimmy…”

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Nick sneered, sending a look in Liam’s direction, “Liam has a point. I can’t help you. Not like they can.”

“But Grimmy, I don’t want to go with them.” Selena shot up from her seat, hurrying over to the tall brunette and throwing her arms around his thin frame. “Please, don’t make me go,” she begged with her face pressed into his chest.

A frown dug lines into his cheeks as Nick returned the solemn embrace, his face leaning down and pressing the gentlest of kisses into her hair. “I’m sorry. You’re always welcome here, you know that.”

It took everything in her to pry herself away from her friend, but she pulled back from Nick and made her way from the room, trudging up the steps towards her room to toss her things back into the bags they’d been in only a week before.

Harry watched until she was out of sight. He swallowed hard before slowly looking towards the boy stood in the door frame. The only thing that had kept Liam from letting him have it had just left the room and that made him fair game.

“Do you realize how much damage you’ve caused?”

With a roll of his eyes, Harry stood from the couch and ran his fingers through his dark hair. “Can’t this wait until we get back to the Hangar?”

“You watch your tone with me, Harry,” Liam snapped, his eyes fixed on the taller boy as he closed the gap between the two, their chests mere inches apart as he got in Harry’s face. “You’ve really gotta watch that mouth of yours before it gets you into even more trouble than you’re already in.”

“You might be the Alpha of the pack, but you’re not _my_ Alpha.” Harry’s eyes narrowed into slits, scowling back down at Liam.

“I may not have been the one to turn you, but you still came to me and joined my pack. That makes me your Alpha and as your Alpha, I’m ordering you to stay away from her. Do you hear me?”

Harry’s heart sank in his chest at those words and he immediately went on the offensive, nostrils flaring. “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do!”

“Watch me.”

It wasn’t long before Nick pushed himself between the two—or at least attempted to, though neither of them budged—and looked towards Harry in the hopes he’d make the smart choice and back down. This wasn’t a fight he could win. Nick had seen Liam take down four men in a bar fight during the summer months on his own; there was no way Harry could withstand that kind of power.

“Ladies, break it up,” he warned, eyes pleading with Harry to back down from a useless battle. The tension between the two was nearly suffocating before Harry broke eye contact, turning his gaze downward in silent defeat.

“That’s what I thought,” Liam grumbled as his muscles relaxed, falling back one step to put distance between the two of them. He stepped out into the hall and moved to the bottom of the steps, looking up to the next level of the house. “Are you quite finished yet? We’ve gotta get going.”

“Give the girl a break, it’s not like she’s packing for holiday,” Nick scoffed with his arms folded across his chest, shaking his head. A quick glare was shared between the two before Liam stalked towards the kitchen once more.

15 minutes passed before Selena descended the steps with bags in tow. Harry made his way towards her and grabbed up two of them, slinging one over his shoulder and clutching the other tightly in his right hand as he took her hand in his left. She looked up at him and through the solemnness that washed over her face a faint smile broke through the façade, one that he returned with a squeeze of her hand. If these were going to be the last few moments that he would get to spend with Selena, he didn’t want her to know just yet.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he cooed, his thumb tracing over the back of her hand. “I promise.”


	5. 005

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took so long. School is winding down to the end of the semester, which means increased amount of work and tests and all of that fun stuff we love about the academic world. I can't make any promises as to when the next chapter will be out, but I'm hoping that it will be soon so that you don't have as long of a wait. Thank you guys for being super patient with me and let me know what you think.

It took a little over an hour for the three of them to reach the outskirts of London, but once they were out of the city the entire atmosphere had changed. The noises of the bustling streets were nothing more than a light buzz in the air carrying through the leaves that hung lifelessly off of the trees around them. There was an eerie calm in the way they fell against the dirt path they traveled and crunched beneath Harry’s dark boots the further they went. 

The tall boy looked down to the petite brunette beside him and he could hear her heavy breathing as she tried to steady her racing heart. He had walked this trail many times since he had first turned and he could recall the cool sweat that trickled down his brow as the broad shoulders of his friend stood out boldly a few yards ahead, much like they did now. At the time he wished he would’ve had support with him—someone to make this journey far less intimidating—and he could smell the same stench of fear trickling off of her that had come off of him only a few months prior.

Shifting Selena’s bag onto his shoulder, he reached over and wrapped his fingers around her trembling hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Caramel hues met jade as she jolted her gaze up towards him as if being ripped from a bad dream back into reality. If only that were the case, she thought briefly to herself. Her fingers slipped into the spaces between his so her hand was no longer cradled in his palm and she felt more secure in his grasp.

“H-how much longer…?” she murmured.

“Not much longer now,” he assured her, a soft smile tugging at his lips though he knew the fate that awaited him once they were through those doors. “Should be there any minute now.”

He’d heard Liam yell at Niall on many occasions, but even then he had never looked as livid as he had at Nick’s house. That was what made his current silence so terrifying. He hadn’t spoken the entire trip or acknowledged their existence since they’d left Primrose Hill and Harry wondered what harsh words were running across his mind.

The trees had already begun to thin out and soon enough, the abandoned airfield stood before them in all its glory. They had stepped out into a wide clearing at the center of which sat a handful of large, rectangular buildings that looked like it hadn’t seen human care in years. The metal sidings were tarnished with rust, cracks ran jagged down the center of the runway, the antenna at the top of the traffic control tower has broken off and was dangling by its last thread, and the grasses that surrounded the abandoned tarmac were nearly tall enough to swallow Selena whole.

Three pairs of feet walked down the broken airstrip and Harry used his knowledge of all the bumps and fissures in the asphalt to guide her across the path safely, which she appreciated as her coordination had never been the best. As they approached the sliding metal door of the building at the end of the way, his hand slipped from hers and looped protectively across the small of her back to pull her into his side. Once they stepped through that door, Harry would be separated from Selena for who knew how long—forever, if Liam had his way—and he knew she was scared. He didn’t blame her. He couldn’t blame her. There was nothing comforting about this hunk of decrepit steel sitting in the middle of nowhere or the den of misfits it housed.

Liam paused at the door as if waiting for something, but no words were being said. Selena looked up to Harry with knitted brows, unsure if this was something that was supposed to happen or not.

“What are we waiting for?”

“He’s waiting for Ni—”

“NIALL!” Liam’s voice boomed, rattling the thin sheet metal that acted as the walls and causing Selena and Harry both to jump out of surprise as neither of them realized that his voice could sound as powerful or irate as it did in that moment—Harry was surely in for it later.

Scrambling could be heard on the other side of the door and after a few buttons were pushed and a lock was undone, the door slid open to reveal a blonde haired boy—though his natural dark roots were threatening to take over the majority of his hair at this point—who seemed out of breath, cheeks flushed red as his blue eyes darted back and forth between their faces.

“S-sorry, mate. I was havin’ a bit of a nap ‘til ya got… back…” His voice trailed as his eyes settled onto Selena and a smile curled the edges of his lips upward, the tension melting off his features. “Selena. Hi.”

His casual response to her presence and the smile on his face was enough to help bring a faint one to her own lips as she lifted her hand up from her side to give him a small wave. “Hi, Niall. Long time, no see.”

“It has been awhile, hasn’t it? What, like a year or somethin’ like that?” He asked, leaning up against the door frame and completely ignoring the daggers being shot at him by the alpha standing before him.

“Yeah, just about,” she replied with a nod.

One thing about the Irishman that she had always appreciated was that he didn’t even have to try to make others feel comfortable in his company. It was a natural reaction for those around him to feel as carefree as he did regardless of the situation, so to find out that he was here was comforting, even though it did mean that he was one of _them_ … whatever they were.

The conversation was cut short as Liam pushed past Niall, receiving a frown from the boy before he motioned for the other two to come inside. Harry waved a hand forward, letting Selena walk in before him and he heard Niall slide the door shut behind them once more, the electronic lock clicking to secure them all inside.

Selena’s eyes widened as she examined the inside of the Hangar. The phrase ‘looks can be deceiving’ was definitely fitting as the outside wasn’t remotely close to being as modern—or as homey—as the inside. One would’ve never guessed that the walls would be thick plaster coated in a thin layer of cream-colored paint, separating the massive space off into separate rooms. They seemed to have entered into a lounge area as there was a television on across the room with a couch seated in front of it, the channel one that Selena didn’t recognize as the heavy accents echoed throughout the room. She didn’t have much longer to examine the room as she noticed Liam’s gaze from across the room boring into her.

“I’d like to have that word with you now, if you don’t mind,” he said, voice carrying across the room and sending a shiver down her spine. She took a quick glanced up towards Harry and he gave her a soft smile, though there was a hint of nervousness behind it and in his eyes which didn’t help to ease the anxieties building up in the pit of her stomach.

“Y-Yeah…” she stuttered quietly, swallowing hard as she turned her eyes back to the other boy, making her way towards him slowly as he started down another corridor that branched off from the lounge.

The sounds of the television from the other room began to fade out the further along the hallways they got, turning around so many corners that she’d lost track and was becoming more and more aware of the blank walls surrounding them. So much so that she wasn’t paying attention to the fact that he had finally come to a stop just outside of an office door with opaque glass. Colliding into him was the last thing she’d been expecting and she stumbled backward quickly, tripping over her feet before falling to the ground with a soft thud and a wince escaping through her teeth.

“Ow, s-sorry.” Her words slipped out with another grimace as she looked up to make sure she hadn’t made Liam any angrier than he already seemed to be. She was relieved to see that he had chosen to ignore what she’d said, instead moving past the door into the sparsely furnished office space.

Pulling herself up off of the ground, Selena dusted off her jeans and slowly stepped forward into the room, glancing around to take in her surroundings. There wasn’t much more to it other than a few chairs, a desk, and a makeshift bookshelf littered with all sorts of literary titles, including ones that Selena wasn’t sure were even written in English.

“You pick things up a lot more easily after you’ve turned,” Liam spoke for the first time in what felt like hours and Selena looked over to him, watching as he closed the door and set his eyes on her, caramel gaze unwavering. “Have a seat.”

Nodding, she walked over towards a row of three folding metal chairs that were situated in front of a moderately sized wooden desk and sat in the middle one, folding her hands in her lap as she waited. She could feel her throat getting drier by the second as the nerves continued to bundle in her stomach with every passing second.

“What do you mean… turned?” she finally broke the silence, looking up when she saw him take a seat in the chair behind the desk and prop his feet up. “You used that word back at Grimmy’s too, but you never explained what you meant.”

“Wasn’t gonna explain with him there,” he replied with a shrug as if it were an obvious answer, turning his gaze to rest on her once more. “He may think he knows what he’s talking about, but he’s got no clue and I didn’t wanna give him the satisfaction of learning more than he needs to know.”

Selena furrowed her brows at the way he spoke about her friend, pursing her lips but using her better judgment and biting her tongue. “Care to explain now then?”

“I was getting to it.”

 _‘Right,’_ she thought to herself with a small sigh, leaning against the back of the chair. _‘Of course you were.’_

“The night you ran into Harry,” he began, his focus strictly on her and the way she fidgeted beneath his steady gaze, “did you notice anything different about him?”

Ever since the questions had started pouring in about the attack, this was the first time she would get a chance to elaborate on what she had actually seen that night. She hadn’t told anybody before—Nick being the one exception to that—because she hadn’t wanted to get Harry into any legal trouble, but that hadn’t stopped Liam from finding out regardless.

“I… I don’t really remember much of it,” she said, running her fingers through her hair and pushing a few stray strands behind her ear to hold them out of her face. “It was really dark and kind of foggy so I mostly saw his outline, but… His eyes. I saw those clearly when he stepped closer to the light.” Swallowing hard, Selena bit her lower lip, hesitating before she answered. “They were gold.”

“Is that all then?” he asked, brow raised as he examined her body language. He could hear her heart pounding in her chest, but there were no irregularities in it. She was telling the truth when she nodded her head and he pulled his feet down from the desk to sit up straighter. “I suppose that’s a good thing then. If you didn’t see much of him, then others probably didn’t either.”

“What else was I supposed to see?” she questioned quietly.

“You’d have probably seen a side of him you probably didn’t wanna see,” he spoke as he searched the desk as if he were searching for something.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. I’ll have to train you along with him now.”

“Train me? For what?” Selena’s face contorted in confusion and the noise of the trinkets in the desk clinking against one another ricocheting off her eardrums and causing her to grimace.

“It wouldn’t be training you for something, necessarily,” he started, pulling a small black box out of the drawer. Flipping it open, he turned the box towards her and held it across the table, revealing a thin silver bracelet about an inch thick sitting inside. “It’d be helping you to control your urges. Put this on.”

“Only if you stop avoiding my question and answer me.” Her voice was firm and she could tell that even Liam was shocked at the gall it must have taken for her to even raise her voice at him. The surprise didn’t last for long though as a smirk curled the right corner of his lip upward and chuckle slipped through his lips, setting the box down in front of her.

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” he asked, folding his arms in front of himself and leaning against the desk. “Think of all the stories you’ve heard as a child of the things that go bump in the night. What can make you transform into something you’re not just with a simple bite?”

The fact that he was so amused by the frustration etched across her face only made her want to reach across the table and smack him until he gave her the information that she wanted, but she knew better than that. Besides, underneath whatever smug appearance he was playing up now, the last time she had seen him she would have considered him a friend. That hadn’t changed.

“… Are you guys vampires?” she asked, a crease forming in the center of her brow. Her question brought forth a bark of a laugh from the boy across the table and he shook his head.

“Vampires don’t exist, love,” he cooed in a condescending tone, smirk still ever present across his features. “Think a little… furrier. More 80’s teen film.”

 _‘What is he smoking?’_ Selena wondered. Surely he’d gone a bit mad with whatever power had gotten into his head if he was talking nonsense like this.

She cast her eyes down to the bracelet in the box and it was the first time she’d really gotten a chance to look at it. At the center of the bracelet, there was a tiny black square engraved, in the center of which was the carved image of a wolf’s head. It was as if a light bulb had gone off and her eyes shot back up to look at the boy in front of her.

“I’m a werewolf?”

“Bingo,” Liam chimed, leaning back into his chair once again, smirk growing. “Took you long enough.”

Reaching out, Selena picked up the bracelet from the box and examined it, noticing a small blip of light coming from the wolf’s eye. With a questioning gaze, she slipped the band around her wrist and looked up towards him. “What is this supposed to do?”

“Helps me keep track of where you are at all times,” he said, his eyes lingering on the silver wrapping around her thin wrist. “The system is flawed, considering the mishap from the other night, but I’m trusting you won’t remove it and I’ll be able to figure out where you’ve gone if you happen to slip out in the middle of the night or if you let the wolf take over and have no idea where you’ve gone to. Zayn’s figuring out another system at the moment, but it may take some time.”

“Zayn’s here too?” she asked. “I didn’t see him earlier.”

“He comes and goes,” Liam explained, dismissively waving his hand as he stood from his chair to walk around the desk. He stood beside her and leaned up against it, reaching over to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. “He’ll pop up again in a few days, surely.”

Quietly, Selena shifted in her seat to move a few inches further from him. His hand against her hair had sent an uncomfortable shiver coursing through her spine and that was the last thing she wanted happening again.

“When did you all turn…?” Clearing her throat, Selena hesitantly brought her gaze back up to meet his.

“I’ve been the longest. When you met me, I was already like this, only more feeble minded and naïve about it all. Zayn was next, then Niall. Harry after.”

“Were you all turned by the same person?”

“No,” he responded, shaking his head as his arms folded across his chest. “I turned Niall, but we’re not sure who turned Zayn. I didn’t even know he was like us until he told me about this place.”

She listened to everything he was saying, trying her hardest to process all of the information and make sure that she understood it all, but there were still bits and pieces that didn’t quite make sense. “If you turned Niall and you don’t know who turned Zayn… who turned Harry?”

Liam stayed quiet for a moment, his jaw clenching at the question and he brought his hand up to rub the scruff that was growing across his chin. “Afraid I can’t tell you, love. I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough. Have you got any questions?”

Frowning, Selena didn’t push the subject. She took one last look down at the bracelet and tapped on it gently. “Where will I be sleeping?”

“We’ve got a separate building where all of our lodgings are. You’ll be sharing a room with Niall as he’s the only one I trust not to touch you.” Liam pushed himself off of the desk, walking towards the office door and wrapping his hand around the cool metal of the knob.

“Why does it matter if any of them touch me…?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously though he didn’t seem to think much of it.

“While you’re under my supervision, you’re mine. Anything else?”

She swallowed hard as she stood up from her chair, shaking her head and her arms folding across her torso to hug herself gently. “Not that I can think of.”

“Good. Off you go then,” he said, pulling open the door and holding it for her.

Picking up her feet, Selena made her way through the door and out towards the hall but was stopped midway when she heard Liam clear his throat once more.

“Oh, and Selena? Please send Harry my way. Cheers.”


	6. 006

As she was making her way back towards the lounge, Selena’s mind raced with everything that Liam had told her in their brief meeting. Werewolves, real? That was something that only happened in movies or on those TV shows geared towards teenagers and young adults, not in real life. Halloween was coming up soon and she knew that, but even this seemed a long way to go for an elaborate prank. It all seemed so surreal and even incredibly silly when she thought about it rationally, but there really was no other explanation for the things that were happening to her. She could hear everything so much clearer and the range of how far she could actually pick up little sounds reached further than before, she felt her patience thinning and she was more easily frustrated with the simplest of things, her heart rate increased faster than she’d ever felt it go before, and she could’ve sworn she caught a fleck of gold in her irises earlier that morning in the mirror. There was no simple or even logical reasoning behind these changes in her body other than the one that Liam had given her, so there was no other choice but to accept it as fact.

The sound of the television blaring from the other room knocked her back into reality as she stepped out of the hallway into the open space. Her eyes rested on the sight of the two boys on the couch, Harry swearing under his breath and Niall doubled over in laughter as both held game controllers in their hands, furiously smashing away at the buttons. The sight of such an innocent, uncensored moment between two close friends was enough for her to forget about the burden resting on her shoulders for at least a fraction of time as a smile crept its way onto her face and her arms wrapped carefully around her torso.

Harry caught sight of the motion out of the corner of his eye and quickly paused the game, whipping his head around for fear that Liam had returned to finally have that talk and was relieved when his gaze fell on Selena. Though it was clear to see that she was attempting to cover up whatever distress she felt at that moment, he could hear her shaky breaths and noticed her eyes focusing on anything but him now that he’d turned his attention towards her. With a furrowed brow, Harry set the controller down onto the low coffee table in front of him, stood from the couch, and made his way over towards her slowly.

Once he was close enough to her, he finally spoke up. “Are you alright?” he asked, voice soft and filled with the concern also evident on his features. Reaching forward, he used his forefinger to tip her chin up and looked into her apprehensive brown eyes. A frown spread across her lips which only brought one to his. “What did he say? Did he do something to you? I swear if he hurt you, I’ll—”

“He didn’t hurt me, Harry,” she muttered in reply, shaking her head and pulling her face away from his touch in the process, turning her gaze back down again. Harry swallowed hard and tried to shake it off, but the fact that she refused to look at him sent a sharp pain surging through his chest. What had Liam told her that made her barely acknowledge him save for a few words?

“Y-you’re alright then?” he asked again, hoping for a proper answer and clearing his throat as he looked over her shoulder and down the hall she’d just returned from.

“Yeah.” Her voice was nearly inaudible to the point that he almost didn’t catch her next few words. “He wants to see you now.”

His heart sank in his chest and it was enough to bring his attention back down to the petite brunette standing before him, raising a brow. “What? See me?”

“Liam told me to send you to him,” she repeated, finally allowing herself to look up towards his face. No matter how hard she tried to mask the dread that was building up inside of her, nothing could keep the creases from burrowing in her brows and expressing her concern.

Even though she had known Liam previously and he was the first of them she’d befriended, he had changed significantly since then; he wasn’t the baby faced sweetheart that had insisted she join him and his group of friends for lunch that crisp autumn afternoon. If anything, he seemed to have let the power of being the leader of… whatever it was that this ragtag group of werewolves called themselves get to his head. He used intimidation instead of communication—at least not a back and forth, more of a ‘do as I say or else’—and that paternal instinct he used to have and his want to make sure those around him were comfortable and taken care of was either buried deep down beneath this controlling attitude or had disappeared altogether. In the time that she had been gone, this group of friends that she had come to adore had disintegrated into… this.

Shaking her head, Selena pulled herself from her rushing thoughts and almost without hesitation, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Harry’s torso, pulling him in close with her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt to hold him tightly against her. Though he was a bit taken aback by the action, one of Harry’s arms instinctively looped around her shoulders and his left hand threaded through her wavy locks as he cupped the back of her head.

In that moment, he leaned down and pressed a barely there kiss to the crown of her head which sent a shiver through her spine that he could feel through the embrace.

“Please be careful…” she murmured, voice muffled by the cotton t-shirt adorning his body.

“He won’t hurt me, I’ll be alright,” he replied in the hopes of reassuring her, though he honestly couldn’t say what Liam would or wouldn’t do at this point. He held her for another moment longer before pulling back reluctantly, looking down at her and reinforcing his statement with a soft smile. Harry’s jade orbs darted between the hallway and her face before he turned to look at Niall. “Keep an eye on her for me, will you?”

The blond nodded as he made his way over towards where the two stood, smiling to Selena. “C’mon. I’ll show ya where you’re sleepin’ now.”

Harry watched as Niall grabbed Selena’s things and led her down a separate hall, heading towards the west wing of the Hangar, before he started his trek towards Liam’s office. It only took a few minutes and he found himself knocking on the door, being greeted by a gruff ‘come in.’

Heaving a sigh, Harry’s long fingers wrapped around the door knob and he opened the door, eyes immediately landing on Liam seated at the desk on the opposite side of the room seemingly engrossed in reading the black and white print of the newspaper sprawled out in front of his face. At least he was until the sound of the door clicking shut behind Harry resounded and finally Liam’s russet eyes flicked up to look over the top of the paper and at the young boy across the way.

“‘University Transfer Student Attacked in Soho’,” Liam read aloud, lowering the papers in his hand down to rest against the desktop. “Have you read this? Riveting article if I do say so myself, though it does leave something to be desired.”

Harry swallowed hard as he shifted the weight from one foot to the other, moving his hands into the little bit of space his tight black skinny jeans allowed in his pockets as he cast his eyes downward. “Yeah… I’ve seen it.”

“Seems she fancies you, Harry. She must if she’s willing to cover for your arse and keep you from getting into trouble with the law.” Rustling the papers, Liam folded them in half and set it down as he stood from his chair. “Course, that won’t stop you from getting into trouble with me, will it?”

“Liam, I can explain.”

“Oh, can you?” Liam asked, amused smirk coming across his lips as he walked closer to where the taller boy stood. “Do enlighten me, Harry. Please. What possible reason could you have for what you did?”

“I…” Harry’s voice trailed and he realized that there wasn’t any real reason other than he had no control over himself, which he knew wouldn’t be an excuse that Liam would accept. Clenching his jaw, Harry stayed quiet and stared at Liam as he stopped a mere three feet in front of him before turning his gaze downward once more.

“That’s what I thought.” Liam’s voice was low, but uncompromising. “Do you realize that you could’ve compromised all of us with your foolish behavior? Were you trying to get yourself caught?”

“That wasn’t my intention.”

“Then what was your intention? I fail to see what you could’ve been trying to accomplish by wandering around on the night of a full moon unless it was to prove that you’re a moron. You know what it does to you. You’re not controlled enough to be let out on your own!”

Harry’s jaw clenched more and his nostrils flared, but he stayed quiet as he inhaled a deep breath. “I wanted to see if I could handle myself out there. That’s all.”

“And now we know that you can’t. Good job. Not only have you proven to yourself that you’re incapable of self-control, but you’ve also ruined the life of the girl you’ve been eyeing since you met her. Congratulations, really.”

“W-what?” Harry stuttered, Liam’s last declaration catching him off guard and pulling him off his initial train of thought.

“What? You don’t think any of us noticed the way you looked at her?” the older boy laughed with a scoff, shaking his head as he turned away from him to make his way back over towards the desk. “Why do you think we all said it was a poor idea to start dating Taylor when you did?”

At the mention of his ex, Harry frowned and watched as Liam tugged open the same drawer he had gotten the bracelet for Selena from earlier and pulled a similar box from inside. “I just thought you lot didn’t like her.”

“Oh, we didn’t,” Liam chimed, looking back over to him after flipping open the case and pulling a collar from inside. “Not after a while, anyway. We saw what she was doing to you. How she manipulated you easily because you trust far too quickly. We tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t have any of it. Now you see where that’s gotten you.”

Harry was more focused on the object in Liam’s hands than he was on his words and he brought his gaze back up to examine the short haired brunette’s face once more. “What is that?”

“If you’re going to act like a dog, you’re going to be treated as such,” Liam responded, setting the now empty box onto the desk and returning to stand behind Harry with the collar opened. Reaching up, he wrapped the leather around the younger boy’s neck and snapped it together in the back, a soft smirk playing across his lips. “And since you’re apparently not a big fan of keeping track of your bracelet, I had Zayn draft this up especially for you.”

If there was one thing that Harry never appreciated, it was when people talked down to him as if he were incompetent. He would admit that he was a bit slow at times and he sometimes spoke or did things without thinking it through first, but he was by no means unintelligent. His fists clenched and the tips of his nails dug slightly into the palms of his hands as he tried everything in his might to keep his composure, watching Liam circle back around to stand in front of him.

“One more thing before you go.”

“What?” Harry asked. His response was curt with the hint of a growl low in his throat.

“You’re getting mad, aren’t you?” Liam chuckled, smirk brightening up his face with a small shake of his head. “Well then you’re really not going to like this.”

“Out with it already, Liam.”

“You’re not to go near Selena again unless we’re in training. You understand me?”

The room went quiet and an uncomfortable tension was palpable between the two of them. Harry’s arms hung by his sides and his fists were clenched once more, this time his nails piercing through the skin and causing him to grit his teeth, nostrils flared. Liam continued to watch him and though he didn’t receive a verbal response, he was all but disappointed with the reaction he had gotten.

“Have I made myself clear?” Liam asked once more, eyes fixed on Harry’s as he examined the face of unspoken defiance before him.

“Crystal,” Harry finally replied through gritted teeth, loosening the tightness of his clutch and turning towards the door to see himself out.

“Remember,” Liam began just as Harry had pulled the door open and was about to shut it behind him, “I’ll know every move the two of you make now. Don’t think I won’t be paying attention to where you are in proximity to her. If you’re anywhere near her or her room… Well, consider yourself warned.”

“Warned?” Harry scoffed, turning back around to face Liam once more with an incredulous look on his face. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m taller than you and could probably outrun you if need be. What could you possibly do to me?”

Liam chuckled, not letting the back talk faze him as he shook his head, walking back to the desk. “If you value your position in this pack and a roof over your head, you will do as I say. Otherwise you can kiss most of that strength you’ve got goodbye.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you when you first joined us?” Liam asked, taking his seat once more and folding his hands on the top of the wooden desk. “Being a part of a pack makes you stronger, even more so when it’s the pack of your original alpha. Seeing as that isn’t an option for you, if you want to keep holding onto those abilities that _I_ have been teaching you to hone since the moment you stepped through those doors, you’ll do whatever I want you to do. My pack, my rules.”

“You can’t control me forever, you know,” Harry said, his voice low and eyes narrowed as he eyed the boy across the room.

“Maybe not forever,” Liam started, gaze and smirk never wavering. “But I’m sure that as long as Selena’s under the impression that she needs me to show her how to control all of these sudden… _urges_ she may be feeling, you won’t be too far behind. You do look just like a pathetic lost pup when you’re around her, did y’know that?”

With one last huff, Harry slammed the door to the office shut behind him and released it, noticing the grooves that the pressure of his fingers on the cheap metal had created tainted with specks of crimson from the gashes on his palms. The quickness of his heart pounding against his rib cage was enough to force him into gulping down deep breaths, stalking down the hall to get as far away from the office as he possibly could.

“Who does he think he is?” Harry grumbled under his breath, swiftly coursing through the halls to make his way towards the sleeping quarters. Like hell Liam would keep him from seeing Selena. He had vowed to keep her safe and to go through this endeavor together and that promise meant more to him than that of keeping his strength.


	7. 007

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. :( I was dealing with the end of the semester, but I'm officially on winter break and should be able to focus much more on writing!

The echo of shoes tapping against the hard floors bounced off the walls as Niall led Selena down what felt like the millionth hallway. Everything seemed so far away from each other and she silently wondered just when they’d arrive at their final destination when he finally halted just outside of a door that opened to reveal a staircase. Selena let out a soft sigh which caught the blond’s attention and brought forth a chuckle from his throat.

“Don’t worry, love,” he began, turning forward to ascend the creaky steps two at a time. “It’s just up here.”

“I hope so,” she grumbled along with sound of her stomach as it reminded her the last time she’d put anything in it was early that morning. “How does the whole… food situation work here? Do we fend for ourselves or order delivery or what?”

“Nah,” Niall chuckled yet again, shaking his head. “We’ve gotta huge kitchen that I can take ya to next if ya want. I do most’a the cookin’ anyhow, I can just get an early start on it all.”

“Could we please?” she asked with a slight frown. “I don’t know how much longer I can go without food. It’s been a long day.”

The pain in the arches of her feet only intensified with each step upward she took until they landed on the last step, smoothing out into a flat surface of what appeared to be a loft. There were two beds spaced out on opposite sides of the expanse with a few bare essentials scattered around the room—a wardrobe to store inside what little clothing she was actually allowed to bring with her, a bedside table made of emptied crates, and a lamp stationed halfway between the two beds. It wasn’t much, but the raggedy band t-shirts, scuffed up jeans scattered about the floor, and photographs of Niall with his family and friends tacked to the wall made it feel warmer and gave it a sense of home.

Niall set her bag down onto the neatly made bed, clearing his throat to capture her attention. “This one’s yours,” he began once her warm brown eyes settled onto his smiling face. “If y’need any more pillows or blankets or anything, we’ve got some layin’ around and I can try and find ‘em for you.”

“I should be okay with those. Thanks, Ni,” she replied softly, giving him the faintest of smiles. Motioning over towards the wall of pictures, she raised a brow as if silently asking for permission to take a closer look to which he gave a sweeping motion of his arm to point towards it with a nod before plopping himself down onto his mattress.

Selena made her way across the room, stepping over a few piles of clothing on her way, and slowed to a stop as the details of the foreground pieces in each image came into clearer focus. She took time to look over each one, admiring the facial features of each individual—some she recognized, most she didn’t—and the tension was melting off her shoulders as her eyes landed on a film strip stuck over top of a picture of Niall with what appeared to be a slimy rock. The photo booth quality of the images made it grainy, but there was no mistaking the three smiling faces looking back at her.

“You kept it...”

“What?” Niall had been caught off guard, focused on clearing his ear canal of wax with his pinky lodged into his ear.

“You kept it,” she repeated as she pulled the push pin out of the wall that held the string of photos up, taking the strip into her hands and walking over to sit down on the edge of her bed.

A fond smile took over her face as she looked at the four different squares. Inside the frames sat three university students—no, three best friends—whose only worry in the world was the distance that was soon to separate them from one another the next day. Her vision grew hazy as tears slowly brimmed along her bottom lashes and she brought her head up to blink them away.

“You alright, Selly?” Niall asked and she simply nodded while quickly running her fingers beneath her lower lids. Unconvinced, he rolled from his bed and made his way to hers, sitting down beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. That was when his eyes fell on the exact picture in her hands and he chuckled quietly, pointing to the third in the row. “I remember I was tryna keep a sneeze in on that shot.” He brought his head to rest down onto hers as his hand lazily rubbed her shoulder. “You remember that day?”

“Of course I do,” she said, giving a small laugh of her own. “I’m more surprised you remember any of it.”

“Hey, my memory’s not _all_ bad, c’mon now.”

“Maybe not, but you had a beer or two if I remember correctly.” A smirk traced her lips as she pointed to the bottom picture where a younger Selena and Niall were smiling brightly at the camera, Harry’s lips pressed to Selena’s cheek and all three sets of arms wrapped around each other in an awkward, three-way embrace. “This one’s my favorite.”

“Think we all had a bit more than beer that night, love.”

The smell of the pub they’d spent most of the night in filled her nostrils as she was brought back to that night, a warmth heating her cheeks as the Jack and Coke burned down her throat. The semester had gone as quickly as it had come and a group of students had organized an end of the year party for the students which included loads of alcohol and photo booths galore to commemorate the bonds that had been formed throughout the year. By this time tomorrow Selena would be on her flight back home, leaving behind all of the people and places she’d come to know and love in her semester abroad and this was her last big hoorah before heading back to her mundane life back home. Though there were many people she’d met and befriended throughout the course of the year, the two knuckleheads across the table downing pints of Guinness to see who could finish first were the ones she was certain to miss the most. She’d become closest with Niall and Harry throughout her time here, much to Taylor’s dismay.

Though Harry and her friend from back home hadn’t exactly ended their relationship on good terms, Selena had never been one to pick sides. She didn’t like conflict, but she also didn’t see why she needed to get involved in a situation that involved two people she was close with. There was also the little detail that she had neglected to tell anyone yet that Selena may or may not have liked Harry deep down as more than just a friend. She’d never intended for those feelings to develop, but there were so many aspects about them that meshed well together that it was nearly impossible to squash the chemistry that developed there on its own.

She found herself fighting back laughter as she watched the boys chugging, thin lines of dark draught beer slipping down from the edges of their mouths as the froth sunk lower and lower in the cups. Why they’d decided to make a competition out of this she still wasn’t sure, but she appreciated the good laugh all the same as it took her mind off of the fact that once their night out was over she would need to head back to her flat, pack the remainder of her belongings away, and get sleep before her flight.

Niall’s glass banged down against the table quickly, completely empty of any of the alcoholic beverage that had been inside moments before. “Hah! I told ya I’d win and ya didn’t believe me!”

“God, how can you drink so much of this stuff, Niall? It’s awful,” Harry commented as he pulled his glass away from his lips, running his tongue across his upper lip to catch any of the foam that still remained there before setting his own mug down onto the table.

“Better watch yourself, mate,” Niall said with an almost threatening tone, though the grin plastered on his face as he got up and waved to the bartender for another was anything but terrifying.

Harry turned his gaze from his friend with a shake of his head over towards Selena, scrunching his nose and giving her an apologetic look. “Sorry about that, that was probably the last thing you wanted to watch.”

“Yeeeah,” she cooed, taking another sip from her drink. “It’s alright though. It gave me some form of entertainment and possible future blackmail material, if anything.”

“Blackmail?” Harry laughed, leaning back against the cushioned booth. “You’d really blackmail me, Selena? I can’t picture it.”

“Oh, totally. I mean, with all the stuff I’ve learned about you from Nick and you-know-who, I could probably ruin your life,” she teased with a soft smile.

Despite the gesture, Harry could sense the sadness tinging the smile and he leaned forward once more to grab her hand from across the table. Selena’s eyes glanced down to where her hand fit comfortably into the palm of his large one and she turned it just slightly to grasp it properly, feeling his fingers squeeze ever so slightly against the palm of her hand.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Harry spoke, his words still loud enough to carry across the table to her though his tone had notably softened from before. Though it should’ve brought a sense of comfort to her, Selena’s chest constricted at the words and it took a deep breath in to help keep down the emotional build that was growing inside of her.

“I’m going to miss you too, Harry,” she responded with another quick smile. A similar smile grew on Harry’s features when Selena realized that if anyone were to see them right now, they would assume something more was going on and she didn’t want to perpetuate rumors that had already circulated about there being something developing between the two. She pulled her hand from his after a few more moments and ran her fingers through her hair, clearing her throat of the lump that was lodged there. “I’m going to miss all of you.”

Harry’s smile faltered slightly, but he tried not to let it show as he nodded and pulled his hand back, picking up his glass and finishing off the remainder of his drink. “It won’t be the same without you, y’know.”

“What do you mean?” Selena asked, raising a brow.

“Well,” he started, motioning over towards the other side of the pub where another group of familiar faces—most notably Liam and Louis—sat watching the Manchester United game that was playing on the television and cheering loudly. “Those two’d never admit it since they like to think they’ve got the most influence in our group of friends, but when you came round, we just felt more… complete. Does that make sense? It probably doesn’t.”

“More complete? Really?” Her brows furrowed in slight confusion as she tilted her head to the side, watching Harry as his jade eyes fell back on her inquisitive face. “I thought you guys had been friends for a while before we even came around.”

“Nah, not really,” he commented with a shrug, resting his arm along the back of Niall’s still empty seat. “We’d known each other and were friends for about two years and we were all good mates, but there was more of a group when you got here. You included everyone, even Zayn,” he chuckled, glancing over to see the boy he’d just mentioned seated across from a blonde girl as they chatted away intimately. “A lot of people find it hard to deal with the five of us all together, even Nick can’t really stand being around all of us at once, but… I don’t know, you’re different.”

“Is different good?”

“Yeah,” he started, smiling at her. “Different’s good.”

“Hey, fellas!” Niall called out as he rushed back to the table, his beer sloshing around as he set it down quickly before grabbing onto Selena’s hand to tug her up from the booth. “C’mon!”

“Where are we going?” Selena asked Niall as she slid from the booth, stumbling to her feet as he continued to tug the two away from the comfort of their previous seats to the corner of the room where one of the photo booths was empty.

“These things’ve been full all fuckin’ night and I’ll be damned if we don’t getta picture before you’ve gotta leave, Selly,” he said, glancing back over his shoulder and motioning for Harry to come along. “Hurry your ass up, Haz!”

With a laugh and a shake of his head, Harry got up and followed behind their quick strides and made it to the booth just as the two were flipping through the menu options. He stepped inside and closed the curtain behind them before he squeezed into the space that was left on this side of the petite brunette, simply admiring her excited laughter as they finally settled on an option where the top of the strip would read ‘best friends 4 eva’ and positioning themselves for the first picture. They all leaned in close as the machine counted down from three, smiles plastered on their faces as the flash blinded them temporarily, giving them only a few moments to switch to their next position.

Everything flowed seamlessly for the next two pictures and it wasn’t until the last picture that Selena’s arms wrapped around both of the boys’ shoulders, pulling them in for a close embrace. “You guys are the best,” she said quietly, the light from the screen in front of them glinting off the glaze coating her eyes.

Niall snaked his arms around Selena’s waist and as much of Harry’s body that he could reach and Harry did the same, resting his forehead against her temple. The final countdown sounded down from three and just before he could stop himself, Harry leaned forward and placed a kiss to Selena’s cheek, catching them both off guard in that moment.

The picture was taken and Harry’s lips were pulled away from her skin just as soon as the flash had disappeared from the booth, leaving Niall in the dark of what had happened as he scurried from the booth to grab the film strips that were being printed on the outside.

“W-what was that for?” Selena stuttered softly.

“I, uh… I don’t know,” Harry began with a shrug, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with a small laugh. “Guess I got a bit carried away.”

Selena averted her gaze down and her hair fell in front of her face like a curtain but not before Harry caught the pink flush of her cheeks and the smile turning the corner of her lips upward, pulling a relieved sigh from between his thin lips as he took her hand and led her back out to rejoin the rest of the crowd.

A few more hours passed and a few more drinks had been poured before the pair found themselves walking out to the main road decorated for the Christmas holidays, Harry’s long arm flailing about in the air to try and hail a cab to get them both back to where they needed to go safely. Selena’s arm was securely wrapped around his torso to keep him upright as they meandered slowly down the sidewalk and the alcohol in her system as well as the heat from his body helped to keep hers warm in the chilly December air.

“Oi! We need a ride too, y’know!” he drunkenly slurred as a cab buzzed past them and Selena scrunched her nose, shaking her head. Reaching up, she pulled Harry’s arm back down to his side which drew his attention back down to the girl he had his arm wrapped around.

“It’s not really that far, Harry,” she started, leaning into him slightly and smiling. “We can just walk. We’ve got our coats, we won’t freeze completely.”

Though he contorted his face into a frown, he nodded and pulled Selena tighter into his side as they continued down the block. “If you insist,” he said with a melodramatic sigh.

At such a late hour, the roads were clear of too many people other than the late night stragglers such as themselves making their ways back home after long hours out on the town. The air nipped at whatever exposed skin it could reach and it was enough to prompt Selena into tucking herself that bit more beneath Harry’s arm to drink in his body heat. He glanced down at her and with a rosy-cheeked smile on his face, he cleared his throat.

“Hey Selena?”

“Yeah?” she asked, turning her gaze up to meet his.

“Happy Christmas.”

With a small laugh, Selena gave him a light squeeze around his waist. “It’s not Christmas yet, Harry.”

“I know, but you won’t be here for Christmas and that alone makes me sad, so I wanted to say it now since I won’t get to later. Not really anyway. I’ll find some way, but it won’t be the same,” he explained followed by a matter-of-fact nod.

“Well in that case, merry Christmas,” she replied softly, her smile growing more the longer she looked at him.

“Y’know what’s really popular around Christmas?”

“Hot chocolate?”

“Well, yeah,” he began, chuckling as he shook his head. “Not that though.”

“I feel like I could keep guessing for a while and not get it, so you should probably just tell me instead, hmm?”

“Sure, sure.”

Clearing his throat, Harry looked around before pulling Selena towards a random store front. The lights were off inside and she watched him skeptically as he tugged her over to stand just beneath the door. Her eyes caught a glimpse of a thin piece of mistletoe hanging from the light fixture just above them and the rosy complexion of her cheeks only grew a deeper shade of red as she brought her eyes to look at his once more.

“Really, Harry?”

“What?” he asked, though the playful grin on his face showed he was anything but remorseful for his actions. “It’s Christmas tradition.”

Shaking her head slightly, Selena reached up to brush some hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. There were a few moments of silence shared between the two and she watched as his tongue flicked out lightly against his lips to wet them, eyebrows raised in silent question.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” she questioned softly, holding onto her bottom lip between her teeth.

Harry smiled as he reached down, large hand cupping the back of her head and fingers getting swept up in her soft waves as he closed the space between them. Their lips met in the most gentle of kisses, almost as if they were afraid that chaos would break out if they were to push any further than they already were against the status quo.

Considering all of the circumstances that led to them standing at this point, this shouldn’t be happening. Harry shouldn’t be kissing the best friend of his ex and Selena should’ve said no instead of inviting him in the way she had, yet here they were in their moment of taboo bliss as the warm breath escaped between their alcohol-stained lips after they pulled apart and stared deeply into one another’s eyes like this was the moment each had been waiting for for the past year.

Neither knew that in a few months’ time all communication would cease. Neither knew that they would end up being forced into this way of life soon after that. In this moment, it was as it was; pure, unadulterated affection that had been held at bay for months.

“Selena?”

Shaking her head, Selena was pulled from her thoughts as she looked to her side to see Niall watching her with a worried look on his face. “Y-yeah?”

“You alright, love?”

“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine,” she replied with a curt nod and a soft smile. “Just reminiscing, that’s all.”

“Well let’s reminisce in the kitchen ‘cuz I’m starvin’!” Niall chirped as he shot up from his spot on the bed, making his way down the steps. Selena set the picture down onto the bed before following him only to be met with the sight of a glum Harry talking in hushed tones with Niall in the hall.

“Harry…” she began, stepping out from behind the doorway, but before she could say anything more, he turned and made his way back down the hall. Her heart sank in her chest and suddenly she’d lost her appetite.


	8. 008

“Selly?”

Jumping slightly, the young brunette was caught off guard by the voice of her Irish friend seated across from her on the counter pulling her out of her zoned out state. She shook her head briefly, clearing her mind, before resting her eyes on his concerned face. “Hmm?”

“Y’haven’t touched your food, love,” Niall commented, nodding towards the pile of scrambled eggs bacon, and two pieces of jam and toast sat on her plate. “I mean, you’ve nudged it ‘round a bit, but I don’t think that counts if we’re bein’ honest.”

“Oh.” Selena glanced down to the food in front of her—which had more than likely gone cold by this point—and sighed, stabbing a piece of egg with the four-pronged fork in her hand and bringing it to her mouth. Her chewing was absentminded as she once again began to drift into her thoughts.

It had been nearly a week since the last time she’d talked to Harry, let alone seen him outside of their brief overlap of training hours. Though they were both still fairly new to being werewolves, he’d had a few more months of experience under his belt which meant that Liam was training them separately to give them the equal amounts of attention that they’d require. That’s how he’d put it, at least. Selena didn’t question it if only to spare herself—and him—the pain of having to deal with an angry Liam, but she would be lying if she said that the curiosity about the whole situation wasn’t eating away at her.

“If you’re gonna try and convince me that there ain’t something buggin’ ya then you’ve gotta get more believable than that,” Niall sighed, shoving the corner of his toast in between his teeth and hopping down from the counter, pulling up a chair and sitting himself down across from her at the table. “What’s the craic?”

“You’ve really got to stop using that word,” Selena chuckled quietly, shaking her head. She set her fork down beside her plate and took a sip from her water as an almost offended scoff left the boy, drawing her eyes back to his face.

“Not gonna stop usin’ it! It’s perfectly acceptable ‘round here, you’re gonna hafta get used to it, love. Now c’mon, tell me what’s goin’ on in that head o’ yours.”

Ever since she’d seen Harry talking with Niall before disappearing, she had wondered what it was that the boys had discussed before she’d come down the steps. Part of her wondered if Niall was in on whatever it was that Harry was up to or if he was just as clueless about the sudden abandonment as she was, but the bigger—and smarter—part of her knew that if there was one person that Harry would tell his problems to, it’d be Niall.

“Are you sure you want to know, Ni?”

“I asked, didn’t I?” he replied through a mouthful of toast that crunched with each bite.

Heaving a sigh, Selena ran her fingers through her long, wavy locks as she attempted to collect all of her thoughts into proper sentences. “It’s just… Something’s wrong with Harry.”

With a furrowed brow, Niall looked at her. “What d’ya mean somethin’s wrong?”

“I mean he isn’t himself,” she began, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned back in her chair. Her eyes searched for anything to focus on except for her friend’s face, choosing instead to observe the way the condensation dripped down the side of her glass as she processed her thoughts. “He hasn’t talked to me since the day he brought me here. It’s just… it’s not like him, that’s all.”

Niall stayed quiet for many moments and it was enough to pull her attention away from the water droplets to focus on the pools of blue that darted away to avoid her gaze. Selena’s eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the boy fidget, biting off another large piece of the crunchy bread to keep his mouth occupied and free from having to answer the question.

“Niall…”

“What?” he replied quickly, eyes landing on her for a brief second before looking away once more.

“Do you know something that I don’t know?”

“Who, me?” he asked, pointing to himself as a nervous laugh slipped through his thin lips. He waved a quick, dismissive hand and scoffed, shaking his head and biting another large chunk off his toast. “Naaaaah.”

“Niall.” Selena started as she leaned forward, elbows against the table. “You’re an awful liar.”

“I’m not lyin’, I promise!”

“Then why won’t you look at me?”

After many moments, Niall focused his attention on the girl that sat across from him and he could see the way the tension had raised back into her shoulders as she anticipated an answer. She was right; he’d never been very good at lying let alone keeping things from her. He let out a sigh before mumbling, “I’m not meant to tell ya, Selly.”

“Tell me what?” she questioned with a perplexed look.

“If I said what, that’d be tellin’,” Niall groaned, shoving the last bit of his breakfast into his mouth and dragging his hand down his face.

Sighing, Selena knew it was probably a stupid idea to try and weasel whatever information he was withholding out of him considering the fact that Niall and Harry were best friends, but it was worth a shot. If it didn’t work out, at least she’d know there was one method of communication down the drain. “Why can’t you tell me whatever it is you’re not telling me?”

“I think…” Niall trailed off ever so slightly, looking up at her. “I think y’need to talk to Harry, love.”

“That makes no sense!” she exclaimed with a frustrated sigh.

All of the answers she’d been getting so far about whatever was going on, whether referring to this conversation or previous ones, had been incredibly vague. She knew Niall was trying to make it seem like he didn’t know anything, but it was obvious by how he avoided answering the question with anything specific that he knew what was going on and that frustrated Selena more than if he simply didn’t know. She just wanted answers, was that so much to ask?

“How can I do that if he’s ignoring me?”

“I shouldn’t say more than that, but I suggest trying to see him after his training session. Probably tonight.”

Standing up from the table, Niall hurried with cleaning off his plate so he could make a swift exit, leaving Selena to herself and her thoughts as she picked at the little bit of information that she’d been provided. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do.

The sun had already begun to set by the time Harry’s training session had finished and Selena found herself seated alone in her room like she had been for the past few hours contemplating her next move. As much as she wanted to talk to Harry, would she even be able to get him to stop and talk to her or even look at her? He’d hardly even done so much as that. But she knew that there would be no room for her to complain if she didn’t at least make an attempt.

Pushing herself up from the bed with a hefty sigh, she slipped her feet into a pair of dark flats so that her trek would be kept quiet. She didn’t need any attention being drawn to her from anybody that could keep her from her goal, so before she made her way down the steps, she slipped her bracelet from around her wrist and placed it neatly on top of her pillow.

She weaved through the many different corridors Niall had shown her on the first day, biting her lower lip in some half-hearted effort at concentration to recall the pathway to the showers. At first the sound of rushing water was faint, but the further she moved in that direction the stronger it became and she caught sight of steam filtering out from an open doorway at the end of the hall.

“Now or never…” she muttered to herself.

Swallowing around the lump in her throat came to be difficult as she stepped forward, pushing the door open just that much more and glancing into the foggy room. It was difficult to make out much in the opaque smoke, but it seemed as if her timing was perfect once the sound of water was cut off.

“H-Harry?” Selena spoke, her voice coming out much softer than she’d initially intended, causing her to clear her throat and speak up again. “Harry, are you in here?”

There was quick rustling and a few things clattered to the ground as the startled boy quickly grabbed the towel that sat beneath his belongings to snake it around his waist just in time for some of the fog to lift and show his startled expression as he looked towards the door.

“Selena, what are you doing? I-in here, I mean,” he stumbled over his words, shaking his head as he tried to tuck the corner of the towel in such a way that it would sit on his hips on its own. “You can’t be here, they’ll know you’re here if—”

“I took off my bracelet,” she spoke quickly. The girl, thoroughly embarrassed—enough for the both of them judging by the red that took over her face—brought her hand up to cover her eyes though she remained standing in the doorway. “I, um… Niall told me to come and talk to you.”

“It couldn’t have waited until I wasn’t naked?” he asked with a light chuckle, trying to keep the air light as he looked around for another towel to dry off his heavy curls. “Unless you were trying to sneak a peek, in which case, mission accomplished.”

“Oh no! I didn’t see anything, I promise,” she said quickly, shaking her head for added emphasis, though she did part her fingers ever so slightly to watch the muscles in his back as he ruffled the fluffy fabric over his head. Her breath caught in her throat and she slipped her fingers close together again to keep herself from staring.

If it hadn’t been for the mirror that was in front of Harry where the fog was slowly turning into condensation, she probably could’ve gotten away with the look but with a chance glance up into the glass at just the right time, the boy noticed as her fingers slid shut and a smirk tugged the corner of his lips up. “Like what you see, love?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she mumbled, pursing her lips. She silently thanked the fact that her hand was covering the top half of her face as she was sure it would be nearly beet red at this point.

A couple moments passed with nothing said between the two and Selena listened to more rustling until she felt a large hand wrap around hers carefully, moving it out of the way. He was fully clothed now, though his hair was still damp and small droplets fell off the ends onto his shirt. Her brown eyes turned up to examine his face, taking in the gentle smile that was written into each of his features. He made it really hard to stay upset with him.

“What did you want to talk about, love?” His voice was low and it took a lot for her to figure out how or what to speak.

“Have you been avoiding me?”

“What?”

Sighing, she pulled her hand out from his and crossed her arms over her chest. “Why are you avoiding me? You haven’t talked to me or even looked at me in about a week and it’s like you suddenly changed your mind about everything you said. Like you didn’t want to be around me anymore…”

“What?” Harry repeated, taking in her words before sighing and shaking his head. “That’s… that’s not it.”

“Then what is it, Harry?” Her eyes were set on his face, searching for any hints of hesitation. “Please tell me because I don’t like being led to believe one thing only to find out it’s something completely different. I’ve had enough of that in the past and honestly, you’re the last person I would expect it from.”

“It’s not what it looks like, I promise.”

“Do you remember what the last promise you made me was?”

Harry stopped to think, the silence falling over them once more until he realized what she meant. “… That I wasn’t going anywhere.”

“Yeah,” she started, her eyes still focused in on his and he could see the glassy sheen they took the longer she looked at him. “You promised me that you would be here, that we’d get through this together. So where have you been? Why have I gone the past week without seeing you or talking to you or even so much as getting a letter from you? I thought it would be different now that I’m back, but I guess it doesn’t matter if I’m here or if I’m in another fucking country because you want nothing to do with me anymore. I’m nothing but an obligation to you.”

Harry stayed quiet, the only sounds he made being the breaths he took in and out slowly as he listened to her, his eyes downcast. When she stopped talking, he brought his gaze up to meet hers again and noticed a single tear that had slipped down her cheek. He reached a hand up and brushed it away gently, sighing quietly.

“Are you done?”

“Is that really all you’re going t—”

“We can’t talk here, Selena.”

“Then where are w—”

Before she could speak again, Harry’s hand had reached down to grab hers and he pulled her from the room, leading her down the halls so quickly that it took all of her concentration not to trip over her own two feet.

“Where on earth are you taking me?” she asked, still struggling to remain upright and keep up with his long, quick strides.

“You’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone! Sorry I didn't get this one out sooner and it seems a bit short, but the next one will hopefully be longer. I start school up again in a few weeks so updates may come slower as the semester rolls around, but we'll see what happens.


	9. 009

The night had already fallen over the countryside by the time Harry’s footfalls had lightened up, indicating to the girl that they were almost at their destination—wherever it was they were going. He’d been walking quickly as if he were trying to avoid running into something, or someone, but after nearly ten minutes of feeling a constant tug on her arm, Selena was relieved to see a small cabin peeking through the bare tree branches up ahead and even more so when she realized that they were headed in that direction.

“What is this place?” she asked, her soft words cutting through the silence and bringing his attention and gaze to rest on her. She was met with a hushed tone of his own.

“Wait a moment, you’ll see.”

Selena let out a sigh, but nodded all the same in acknowledgment before slowing to a stop. She watched as Harry knelt down and dug into the soft dirt that surrounded the base of a dead bush, furrowing a brow. She half wondered if he intended to burrow his way inside—after all, dogs did have a habit of digging under fences—but a few moments later he stood back up with a small, brass key in hand, slipped it into the lock, and pushed open the front door.

Their footsteps echoed off the walls of the nearly empty cabin as they made their way inside and Harry made sure the door was securely shut behind her before twisting the lock once more. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness in no time and the pale moonlight that filtered in through the window across the way was enough to give a basic shape to the few pieces of furniture scattered about the room.

Clunking sounds came from the opposite end of the room which drew her eyes towards Harry who was piling logs into the fireplace, using the matches set out on the counter to start it up. The fire cast an orange hue over the room and brought everything into the light, long shadows cast across the floor from the chairs.

“That should keep us warm,” he commented, more to himself than anything, as he stood from his kneeling position, eyes turning to observe her uncomfortably standing near the doorway. “Where are my manners?” he chuckled with a shake of his head. Walking towards the table, he pulled out a chair and glanced back over towards her. It took her a moment before she realized he was holding it out for her and took a seat with a soft smile and a blush just as gentle painted across her skin.

It wasn’t long before the heat from the crackling fire began to permeate the room, the light chatter of their teeth dissipating with the cold. Harry took his seat across from Selena though she’d admittedly wished he would’ve chosen to sit closer—not that there really was much room in the cabin to begin with, so he was still pretty close—and Selena quietly watched him fold his hands together on top of the table, eyes cast downward as if in thought.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, catching his attention for what seemed like the hundredth time that day as he looked back up and over towards her. He paused for another moment, admiring the way that the warm light licked across her skin, casting shadows in all of the right places to emphasize the soft oval of her face. “Why did you bring me out all this way just to talk? Why couldn’t we just go to one of our rooms or something?”

“Because you can never be too sure what all is wired and bugged in there,” he admitted, giving a soft chuckle though the statement was anything but lighthearted. 

Constantly feeling like they were being watched wasn’t what any of them had signed up for when they’d initially agreed to come together under one roof, to form this pack. He could understand why in the grand scheme of things. They were dangerous creatures and some of them still hadn’t learned to fully control their primal urges, but he hated feeling like a caged animal, especially when the person controlling everything used to be one of them.

“So… these trackers aren’t a new thing?” she asked quietly as her eyes flickered down to look at the black collar that was wrapped snugly around Harry’s neck.

Long fingers reached up and Harry lightly touched the material, a very faint and almost condescending smirk coming to his lips as he shook his head. “No… Liam had Zayn draft them up a few months ago, right after I was turned,” he started, looking down as his hands fell to rest against the top of the wooden table between them. “Suppose it was a way to keep track of me for the most part… They’d all been turned long before I had, so they had more control over themselves and their actions. I didn’t. Most new werewolves don’t… and I suppose I still don’t.”

Swallowing hard, he brought his gaze back up to look at the girl that sat across from him. It was hard coming to accept the fact that he had completely altered her life, that he was the reason she was even in this situation, and he didn’t think there was ever a way he could apologize enough for it. He never would have wished this life of reclusion and fear on anyone, but especially not her.

Noticing his lingering gaze, Selena reached forward and took his hand into hers. His hands were rough, calloused from the months of training and hard labor they’d endured, but resting there between her smaller ones they felt almost vulnerably untouched.

“It’s okay…” she finally muttered, her words barely louder than the crackle of the fire behind him.

Harry scoffed, more at himself than at her words. “It’s not, Selena. It never was okay and it still isn’t.”

“Harry, can you just… listen to me?”

The staid look on her face was enough of an incentive for him to remain quiet and he nodded carefully. Whatever she had to say, it was obviously incredibly important to her.

She took in a deep breath and took both of his hands in the process, moving her fingers carefully against the palms of his hands. “When I say that it’s okay, I don’t mean that… it’s okay that you turned me or whatever. What I mean is that it’s okay because you made a mistake.”

Though he had been preoccupied with the absentminded movements of her fingers against his skin, Harry’s green eyes turned upward as the girl paused and his heart rate quickened. “What?”

“You’re human.” A faint snort of a laugh left the male and he tried to keep it quiet, Selena’s nose scrunching softly in realization of what she’d said. “Well… sort of, I guess,” she spoke uncertainly, shaking her head as a small laugh slipped past her pink lips. “You didn’t do this to me on purpose… at least I hope you didn’t. You didn’t go out that night with the intentions of attacking me and making me just like you. Hell, I don’t even know if you knew I was back in the country at all. But what I do know is that things happen for a reason and there’s really no point in trying to consider the ‘what ifs’ because we can’t change the fact that it happened. I can’t tell you what the reason is just yet, but… we’ll figure it out, right? Life throws us unexpected things all the time and we have to learn to deal with them. I’m looking at this as one of those times.”

“It’s…” Another soft sigh left him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Not after everything she’d just said.

A soft smile tugged at the edges of Selena’s lips and she turned her warm, brown eyes down to look at their hands while her fingers slipped into the spaces between his fingers. The movement caught his attention and Harry looked at her before allowing a similar smile to come to his face, his thumb caressing across the soft skin of her hand.

“It’s okay because I forgive you.”

“If… I-If you’re sure,” he spoke softly, his gaze never once leaving her face. The next few moments were silent and Selena turned her eyes back up to meet his, nodding slowly as she gently squeezed his hand.

“I’m sure, Harry.”

Though he knew that he couldn’t forgive himself for what he’d done, knowing that she wouldn’t hold this against him like everyone else seemed to be doing felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He brought their hands up from the table, leaning down and pressing the faintest of kisses to the back of her hand, lips lingering until he rested his forehead against them.

“You’re a saint, y’know that?” he chuckled, maybe the first legitimately lighthearted one he’d had in a while.

“Far from it, but thanks,” Selena responded, smile still written in her features.

Harry finally lifted his head and looked over at her, wetting his lips with a quick swipe of his tongue across them. “Liam didn’t want me to see you.”

“What?” Selena’s brows knitted together in confusion.

“I was avoiding you because Liam told me he didn’t want to see me around you. I was going to keep being around you, but with the trackers he would know exactly where we were. I wasn’t sure what he would do to you or if he would do anything to you, but I didn’t want to risk your safety, so I obeyed. I never got the chance to explain it to you, but now you know. We shouldn’t even be out here together, but since you haven’t got on your tracker, I thought that maybe we’d be alright. I just hope no one followed us.”

“Do you really think that we’d be followed?”

“Who knows at this point,” Harry sighed. “I never thought Liam would get this big of a head to think he can claim ownership on you, but here we are.”

“Wait…” Selena began, her voice incredulous. “He claimed ownership on me?”

Harry simply nodded which caused the young girl to roll her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “Believe me, I was as unimpressed as you were.”

“I don’t belong to him. I don’t even like him!” She exclaimed. Harry tried his hardest not to laugh at that statement but a snort ripped a loud laugh from him, hand quickly clapping down over his mouth to hold back the sound. Selena watched him and hearing his laugh brought one forth from her. “What? Why are you laughing?”

“It was just the way you said it, that’s all,” Harry commented as he brought his hand away from his face, running his fingers through his hair. “I suppose he just believes that because he’s the leader, he should be the one to get the first dibs, which is appalling.”

“If anybody’s got ‘dibs’ on me, it’s you.”

“Wait, what?” Harry had been completely caught off guard by her statement that it took him a minute to process it, his eyes looking over her face to see if there was any hint of her possibly joking and carrying on the facetious remarks from before.

“Not that I’d… give you dibs if you didn’t want it,” she began, catching her bottom lip between her teeth and chewing lightly at the thin skin.

“Well,” Harry started, swallowing hard around a lump that had begun to make its presence known in his throat. “I’d be stupid to pass that sort of opportunity up.”

In that moment, it was like a light bulb had gone off as Selena’s eyes widened and a near frantic shaking of her hand started as she looked around. “Do you usually get service out here?”

He raised a brow, watching her as she pulled her phone from the pocket of her pants. “What?”

“Do you usually get cell phone reception out here?”

“It depends…” Hurried typing on the touch screen only furthered his confusion. “Why?”

“I remember something I learned a while back,” she started, her words drifting off slightly as her foot tapped viciously against the floor, a subconscious nervous tick, “about how when some animals mate, they mate for life.”

“And that has to do with this conversation… because…?”

Selena muttered a quick ‘finally’ under her breath as she held up her phone, the screen facing towards him and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the screen versus the dimly lit cabin.

“Wolves are one of those animals,” Selena said, her voice soft as she watched the wheels turning in Harry’s head. His eyes flickered between the lit screen and her face, but he still hadn’t quite connected the dots.

“Why did you need to know that?”

“You said that Liam tried claiming me, but what if I already belonged to someone else? What if I belonged to you? Then he couldn’t keep us apart.”

“I don’t know about that, Selena,” Harry spoke hesitantly, a bit of a frown coming to his lips. “This isn’t just a temporary thing. This would be for… however long we live now that we’re inhuman.”

“I know it is. But I would rather be tied to you forever than to be tied to him. Not when he’s like this… I’m not going to let him have ownership over my life. He’s trying to push me and it doesn’t give me another alternative.” Locking her phone, she set it down against the table as she looked at him with an almost hopefully optimistic gaze. “This could work out for both of us.”

With a sigh, Harry looked down in thought. This wasn’t exactly a smart idea, but what other options did they have right now? Continue to let Liam tear them apart until he was able to have his way with her? Harry couldn’t live with himself if he let that happen.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked, looking at her.

“I’m sure.”


	10. 010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't worth the wait and I apologize. I'm going to put this story officially on hiatus until I can plan out where the remainder of this story is going. Hopefully you guys understand and thank you for being patient with me.

The crackling fire on the opposite end of the cabin had filtered its warmth throughout the space, melting into every crevice and penetrating into every set of limbs it could reach. The small house was split into two separate rooms. The pair had moved from their seats at the table into the makeshift bedroom hidden behind nothing more than a piece of fabric hanging in the doorway, where Selena stood and watched as Harry knelt before her.

Nerves were evident as Harry finished preparing the nest of blankets and he turned his gaze up to meet that of the beautiful woman that stood only a few feet away. The way she kept her bottom lip snug between her teeth and her eyes flickered from him to the bed made it clear that he wasn’t the only one feeling that way. He reached over and took her hand warily in his own while he brought himself back to his feet, bridging the gap between them as he brought her closer. It had been awhile since either of them had bared their soul let alone their bodies for someone else to see, but as their lips met in a careful, unhurried kiss—similar to the one they’d shared that December night—everything seemed to make sense.

Their hands fell from one another, his moving to grasp her hips and pull her body against his as hers moved along his arms, cupping the back of his head. Her slender fingers tangled into his hair and the kiss deepened just that bit more, the pressure enough to add that extra hint of passion needed to push things to the next level. He lifted his hands up from her hip beneath the hem of her shirt, the heat that radiated off of her body warming his cool touch while fingers roamed into the dip of her waist.

The night air immediately caused the exposed skin of her abdomen to prickle with goose bumps and she shivered, her body flush against his in an attempt to drink in his warmth. Harry was happy to oblige, her shirt quickly pulled over her head and though she whimpered as their lips parted, he was sure to bring them back down to trace along her jawline. The new touch made her breath catch in her throat in surprise, but she bit her lip and closed her eyes, tilting her head slightly to give him access to more skin.

He hummed gently against her smooth skin as he kissed down to her shoulder, thumbs lightly caressing her hips. Hands roamed along her body, losing contact only to remove the shirt that clung to his back, but as soon as the article of clothing was out of the way, he unclasped her bra and slipped it down and off her arms.

He could tell by the way her cheeks turned a ferocious shade of red and her eyes cast downward that her nerves still hadn’t gone away and he brought his hands to her cheeks, turning her attention back up towards him. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured, his gaze holding hers for many moments. “You’re so beautiful.”

A soft, hesitant smile crept across her lips at his words and without another word, she propped herself up onto her toes to connect their lips for another lip lock. She’d had boyfriends in the past, but even in the intimate times with them, she’d never felt this mix of anxiousness and being at ease with someone as she did with him. She could feel his lips curl into a smile as the kiss continued and she could tell in that small move that he felt the same.

In one swift motion, his hands moved down and cupped her bottom, lifting her up into his arms. Her legs and arms instinctively moved to wrap around him, to hold onto him and keep herself as close to him as she could without breaking the kiss, and he carried her over towards the improvised bed, lowering slowly to his knees before laying her down against the blankets. He left a trail of open mouth kisses across her jawline and down her neck, stopping only for a moment to nip and suck lightly at the skin. Even though everything they were doing right now was meant to stake his claim in a sense as his scent would be all over her, he wanted to leave a small bit of physical proof so anybody who saw would know to keep away.

After tonight, she was his and he was hers completely.

Selena arched into his lips as he continued to move lower, his kisses moving down the canyon between her breasts and then finding their way to one of the small caramel nubs that stood erect in the cold night air. His warm breath ghosting across her skin combined with his mouth and tongue was enough to pull a slew of sighed moans from her, tangling her fingers into the curls on the back of his head.

His hands roamed down her body and when he moved from one breast to the other to pay it the same amount of attention, he slipped off the pants that still clung to the curve of her legs, his hand slipping down between her legs and into her panties to lightly trace along her folds, gently massaging the skin. Selena could feel her heart beat gradually increasing the longer Harry teased her and her breathing becoming shallow, pressing her hips down into his touch to feel more. He obliged, adding some pressure to her skin, focusing on her clit and tracing slow circles around the bundle of nerves and dragging a moan out of the girl. Just knowing that he could make her respond like this was invigorating—the moans, the feeling of her lower lips growing more slick—and it spurred him on further, kissing up towards her lips again.

“Are you sure?” he muttered against her lips, placing a few soft pecks against hers. He’d asked it a handful of times already since they’d agreed to do this and every time she’d given him assurance to go ahead, but he couldn’t help but feel nervous about it all. Sure he wanted this, but he wanted to make absolutely certain that it’s what she wanted as well.

“I’m sure,” she repeated herself, voice barely above a whisper and eyes half-lidded as she gazed lovingly up towards him. “I want this, Harry… I want this with you.”

Taking in a deep breath, he nodded and sat up slowly, looping his fingers beneath the elastic of her underwear before pulling it down the length of her legs, discarding it off with the remainder of their clothing. He did away with his own jeans and his boxers soon after, a sigh of relief leaving him as the tension that had grown from his erection pressing against the fabric was released. Doing away with the last pieces of fabric keeping the two apart, he found himself over top of her once more, one hand propping him up on the side of her head as the other pumped up and down his length to get himself to a full hard-on.

“H-how…” He groaned low before continuing, “How do you want to do this?”

Selena sat up from the blankets and cupped the back of his neck, bringing her lips to meet his while also slowly shifting so that they were both sitting up once more, Harry not objecting to the movements she made. He wanted her to feel comfortable with this and he would allow her to take control of the situation as he sat back and down onto the covers. She straddled him and her hands moved to rest onto his shoulders, their lips never parting until she pulled back, resting her forehead against his, eyes still closed.

“How will we know if it worked?” Her question was one that Harry hadn’t considered, but he swallowed hard, his free hand moving up to rest on her hip and grip it gently.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I haven’t exactly done this before in this state,” he chuckled quietly, hoping the light manner he held would help to ease the apprehension that she clearly still held. “We’ll find out I suppose, yeah?”

With a small nod, Selena kissed gently across his cheeks and he took that as his sign to continue, using his hand to align himself with her entrance and prod lightly against her. She took in a deep breath through her nose and carefully lowered herself down onto him, gasping quietly as he filled her.

There weren’t fireworks, nor was there any sort of trumpet fanfare to announce that the bond had been formed, but the air around them grew still and it was like the only thing in the world in that moment were each other. One shaky breath later, Selena brought her hands up to cup either side of Harry’s face and before she could make another move, their lips were connected once more, Harry humming softly into the kiss while his thumbs rubbed slow circles into the skin of her hips, waiting for her to make the next move.

Lifting herself up, Selena began a rhythm between them that Harry quickly fell into, their bodies and moans in sync. His hands on her hips were holding tight enough to help move her up and down on his shaft, hips moving up to meet hers and with each thrust another pleasured sigh falling into the lip lock, but he still allowed her the majority of the control between them. He wanted this to be the best it could be for them, but there was also the thought in the back of his head that if the pace increased too much that there could be serious consequences that went along with it.

Her heart was already beating against her rib cage from the anticipation that had built up in the moments leading up to this, but as their bodies rocked together, the amount of restraint she had over her own primal instincts slipped away little by little. Pulse racing faster and faster as they went, it wasn’t until Harry felt a pain shoot through his shoulders that he realized that something was wrong.

Eyes opening, he looked up to notice through Selena’s lashes that her eyes were glowing the same familiar golden shade that he’d come to know well from the others of the group, which only meant that the pain in his shoulders were the claws that were beginning to press into his skin. She hadn’t gotten a hold of keeping her heart rate steady to prevent the change and it was getting too fast now; she was about to push herself over into shifting.

“Selena…” His voice was low, but it was enough to catch her attention as he reached up to cradle the back of her head, all other motions ceasing. “Look at me… f-focus on my voice. You have to concentrate. Stay calm, keep steady. You can do this. You’ve got it in you.”

Golden eyes met green in the dimly lit room and though his words seemed to echo around in her mind, she kept her gaze trained on his and attempted to do as he said. Liam had been training her on this, but she hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it just yet. She couldn’t let this ruin the moment though; she needed to see this through to the end to make sure that she would be free from the older man who had his sights set on her.

“Breathe.”

 _Breathe_. It was that single word that came to mind and as Harry repeated the sentiment almost as if he was in her mind at that moment or able to read it, she merely nodded with ragged breaths, eyes falling shut to focus.

Slowly but surely, her ragged breathing became full, deep intakes of breath and the nails began to retract. Selena opened up her eyes and Harry was relieved to see that they had returned to their lovely brown, a slight grin twisting the corner of his lips upward. “Welcome back.”

“Shut up,” she replied with the hint of a laugh mixed in with her words, lids falling over her eyes once more. There was a slight pause before Selena began to move her hips again and she only stopped as Harry’s hold on her hips tightened, keeping her in place.

“Are you sure you can do this?” He was concerned and rightfully so, peppering pecks against her lips, lingering on the edge of them. “We can stop… I don’t want to risk your safety.”

“Just trust me,” she replied, giving him a hopeful look. Harry read her face, taking in her features before he allowed himself to let go, Selena taking over once more to bring back the pace and the moans that followed.

Her heart beat quickly, but she was more conscious of it this time around, determined not to let her other side take over. Her moans were subtle, but as the pace of their hips meeting grew quicker, it was clear that it was only a matter of moments before she would reach her peak.

A flash of white and that sensation of weightlessness took over Selena’s body, only this time it seemed intensified somehow. Whether it was because of the meaning of this moment or who it was with she couldn’t be sure, but as she crumpled into him and her face found the crook of his neck, his arm slipped around her waist to hold her body flush against his as he released soon after and it was in that moment—that moment with no defenses—that she felt the strongest she’d felt in a long time. The man holding onto her had given her a strength that no amount of training could ever fulfill, though neither of them knew how much they would gain from this bond they’d created.

With their bodies no longer moving in time, the thin layer of sweat coating their skin mixed with the cold air now served to cool them down, the only thing keeping them from freezing being their bodies intertwined and the warm kisses that were shared between the two as Selena lifted her head again from his shoulder.

“I hope you don’t come to regret this…” Harry murmured, forehead against hers as he brushed her dark, wavy locks back behind her ear. “I’ll try not to give you reason to.”

Selena smiled softly, leaning into the touch of his large hand as it came to rest on the side of her head “I don’t think you will… If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have done this.”

Opening his eyes and leaning his head back to get a proper look at her face, he couldn’t help but to give her a gentle smile, the light indent of his dimple pressing into his cheek. Carefully lifting her off of him, he laid her down onto the blankets and grabbed his shirt and their underwear, slipping his boxer briefs back on and handing over the remainder of the clothing to her.

“We’ll stay here tonight, come up with an excuse in the morning.” Laying back down beside her, he tugged the covers over top of their partially clothed bodies to insulate their body heat and keep up the small cocoon they’d created as they curled into one another.


	11. 011

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've taken forever to update this and I'm so sorry for that. I lost muse for the story (and writing in general) but I'm finally back into the groove with this and another story that I've posted called Fool's Gold. I appreciate the kudos that I've gotten in the meantime! I'm going to be making the chapters shorter so it'll be a little easier to get through the story.

The sound of loud banging roused them quickly from their sleep. Harry shot up from where he’d been laying, his senses immediately on alert as he tried to figure out what was happening. Dawn was breaking, so the faintest glow of the sunrise broke through the trees and filtered into the windows, so they couldn’t have been asleep for too long. He quickly looked down and saw Selena beside him, her brow furrowed and hands quickly rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“What’s going on?” she asked, though the sound of her heart racing pounded in Harry’s ear drums and made it hard for him to focus.

“I don’t know,” he began. “Wait here and get dressed.”

Grabbing his jeans, he pulled them on quickly and made his way past the curtain to the other room. The fire had gone out long ago, so the chill of the autumn air mixed with the noise coming from the front door sent goose bumps across his skin. His long legs carried him towards the front door and he took a peek out the window to see Zayn with his fist pounding against the wood of the door.

“Zayn?” Harry muttered to himself before unlocking the door and quickly pulling it open, narrowly missing the other’s fist. “Watch that thing, will you?”

“Well I’ve been standing here knocking for ages, haven’t I? Didn’t expect you to open up. Took my bloody key and locked me out otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered you. Now let me in, I’m freezing,” he sighed, pushing past Harry to make his way into the cabin. He went straight for the fire, putting a couple logs in before starting up a fire to rid his body of the shivering, and Harry couldn’t help but watch, unsure of what to do or say.

“Where have you been?” he finally started, running his fingers through his hair. “You’ve been gone for weeks, I was looking everywhere for y--”

“I was out,” Zayn said simply. His hands were extended towards the flames, the heat seeping in and ridding them of the stiffness they felt. “It’s what I always do, H. I dunno why you’re still so surprised by it.”

“I wasn’t surprised, it was just inconvenient timing for you to go all lone wolf on us,” Harry sighed arms crossed.

Nobody really knew how it was that Zayn came to be a werewolf or who had turned him when their pack came together, including Zayn himself. The night he was turned was a complete blur to him, but he’d been wandering around without a pack for so long that when he finally joined one, he found it hard to stick around for very long without needing some time to himself. That would be when he’d escape to the woods for a few weeks, run around in his full wolf form and hunt to keep his mind sharp. Omegas weren’t as strong as betas with their lone wolf tendencies and inability to stay committed to one pack, so this was Zayn’s way of training himself, the way he always had before he’d been brought in. Even if he wasn’t a member of their pack by blood, he was still Liam’s favorite. That’s why he was allowed to disappear for weeks without notice and not have to worry about facing the wrath of the alpha.

“Sorry, I’ll try not to inconvenience you by living my life,” Zayn said, the sarcasm evident in both his voice and the roll of his eyes, though Harry couldn’t see the latter with his back turned. There was a pause in conversation and Harry’s shoulders tensed as he heard Zayn sniff the air and look over his shoulder, attention now focused on the curtain. “You’re not alone, are you?”

Harry froze at the statement. Regardless of Zayn’s abilities not matching the same strength as his or Niall’s, he had forgotten that Zayn would be able to detect that there was someone else occupying the same space as them. Now that they’d been caught, he wasn’t sure what he could do. He couldn’t lie--Zayn would see right through that--but the thought that he would go back and report to Liam what he saw here worried him.

Cursing under his breath, Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, I’m not.”

Zayn stood up from his crouching position and walked across the room, eyes lingering on Harry for a moment. Without another word, he pulled the curtain back to reveal Selena sitting on a bundle of blankets in a shirt that was a size too big for her and hair a mess. The stench of sex still littered the room and wafted into his nostrils, forcing him to scrunch his nose as if he’d smelled something rotten.

“Hi…” Selena’s voice was meek as she looked up at Harry almost apologetically, though she knew there wasn’t much she could’ve done to hide herself.

Blinking a few times, Zayn looked back over to Harry who returned the gaze, an expectant look on the younger male’s face. “What have I missed?”

It didn’t take very long to catch Zayn up on everything that had happened since he’d been gone; the attack, Selena joining the pack, Liam’s overly territorial approach to… everything. Zayn stayed quiet as he listened to the two tell the story, and once the two were finished, they looked to him to see if they could try to read his expression.

“Alright, let me get this clear…” He began, his chin propped up by his hand. “You two came all the way out here, to _my_ cabin, so you could have sex to spite Liam?”

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds really stupid,” Harry started, to which Zayn quickly interrupted.

“That’s because it is really stupid. Proper Romeo and Juliet bullshit, that is.”

“You weren’t there, Zayn,” Selena chimed in, frown coming to her lips. “Liam was going to force me to be with him. He’s changed so much, I didn’t--”

“I may not have been there recently, but I’ve been there longer than you have,” he bit back, small huff leaving him.

“Zayn.” Harry’s voice was intimidating, sharp gaze trained on the boy across the table to let him know not to speak out of turn.

“Sorry,” Zayn sighed, giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts. He took notice of the soft smile and nod of acknowledgement from the girl across the table, one he assumed meant to silently say it was alright, before speaking again. “I know he’s changed. Why do you think I’ve spent so much time away from the Hangar? I hate seeing him like this, but he doesn’t listen to me anymore. He doesn’t listen to anyone.”

Silence fell over the cabin save for the crackling of the fireplace. Large fingers wrapped around Selena’s hand and she looked over towards Harry to find his eyes had already settled on her. She swallowed hard, looking down at their hands, then looked back over to Zayn who was watching them intently.

“You’ve already done it, haven’t you?” His voice was soft, and though he was asking, it was clear in the intonation that he already knew the answer, so Selena nodded slowly and bit her bottom lip. “Liam’s gonna be pissed off.”

“I know,” Harry spoke up, sighing. “But this was her decision to make, not his. Now we have to face the consequences of it.”

“He’s going to find out you’re both not there and connect the dots. You shouldn’t stay here,” Zayn advised.

“I didn’t wear my tracker,” Selena started, brow furrowed. “How would he know where I am?”

Zayn laughed some, shaking his head at the question. “He’s not stupid, babe. He’ll go in to check on you and when he sees you’re not there, he’ll flip.”

Selena’s eyes widened a bit and she looked over to Harry. “I didn’t tell Niall I was leaving. What if Liam tries to get information out of him and he gets hurt? Harry, we have to go back.”

“Selena, we can--” Harry was interrupted by the sound of her chair scraping against the wooden floors, watching as she darted back into the other room. She pulled on her own clothing, tossing Harry’s shirt over to him now that she’d put her own back on. “Selena…”

“I don’t want to hear it, Harry. I’m not going to risk Niall getting hurt because of us,” she said, her voice firm. Zayn had to hold back a small smile at it, his eyes lingering on Harry for a moment.

“Looks like you’ve got yourself a feisty one there,” he commented to which Harry rolled his eyes, though he smiled nonetheless.

“Yeah, but I knew that a long time ago,” he commented before standing up, pulling his shirt over his head. “Alright. Let’s get back then.”

Once her shoes were on, she made her way to the main part of the cabin, brushing her fingers through her hair. “Zayn, are you coming with us?”

“May as well,” he said, shaking his head and pushing his chair out to stand. “I usually come here to unwind after my hunts, but since you’ve gone and stunk up the place, I don’t wanna sit here.”

Selena gave him an apologetic smile and muttered a quick sorry, but Harry only smirked before leaning over to place a kiss to her cheek. “Don’t worry about him, he’ll get over it.”

They gathered their belongings as quickly as time would allow--Zayn had to take down all of the dead animals he’d hung up outside and bring them back so that they could be cleaned off and used for food--then started their mostly silent trek back to the Hangar. Selena’s hand found its way into Harry’s when she noticed the rapid beating of his heart, the sound floating into her ears. He was nervous and rightfully so, all things considered.

After all, Liam had told him to stay away and he had done the exact opposite, but the consequences of all of this were yet to be determined. If Liam were to make good on his threat, that would mean Harry would be out of the pack, and who knows what else would happen to the two of them. Regardless of the outcome though, she knew that she would stay by his side through it all.


End file.
